In Spain, the government recently announced plans to cut spending on education. The action quickly caused students to hold a nationwide protest against the cut. Led by the Students’ Union, thousands of protestors have taken to the streets of major cities in Spain. The demonstration included students from secondary schools and universities. These protestors argue that the cuts put students at a greater risk of unemployment in the future.
The budget cut will ultimately raise public university fees, while reducing the number of faculty and classrooms. Scholarships and grants will also be reduced. Similar effects were seen to arise from previous spending cuts to education. Back in 2010, almost $6.5 billion was cut from education. This brought on great changes in classrooms: thousands of teachers lost their jobs, scholarship offerings decreased, and tuition fees rose.
The cut was initiated by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy as a means of reducing the public deficit. With a high probability of bankruptcy, Spain is under pressure to organize their public finances, especially with its near-25 percent unemployment rate. Students and other protestors argue that, by cutting the budget, employment will not increase.
UNESCO released a report showing figures of student performance and employment probability for new graduates. The report was less than appealing. One in three students in Spain, between 15 to 24 years old, does not complete their secondary education. This is higher than the European average of one in five. It is argued that students are stopping their education to seek employment. However, the rate of youth unemployment is over 50 percent. Without proper education, employment opportunities for students are becoming even more scarce. According to UNESCO, not giving students education will cause them to “not take advantage of their potential, lose employment opportunities and stops them helping their respective countries back to prosperity.”
Creative Commons Love: oatsy40 on Flickr.com
Written by Sera Yoo