- Save The Children warns of the alarming increase in socio-economic segregation in education in the Basque Country. According to the report released by the institution, in the “ghetto schools” that concentrate students in a poor socio-economic situation, 68.8% of the students have a low socio-economic profile (in the Spanish State, the average is 53.7%), in these schools more students repeat the course and more are those who drop out.
Among those with the highest state index in school segregation, the EAE is the fourth (0.27), after Madrid, Catalonia and La Rioja. In the last ten years, this index has increased by 8.7% in the UAE, increasing the so-called “ghetto schools”. Seven out of 10 students who live in the most vulnerable situations study in them, Mingle with me. From socio-economic segregation to inclusive education is included in the report. Nine out of ten high concentration schools are public.
Among other things, these centres focus on pupils with language assistance needs, with special needs, and with little provision for extra-curricular activities. In addition, given this reality, these schools often do not have access to the resources they need, “and in many cases, the most qualified teachers abandon them to other schools with a lower level of complexity.”
What can be done?
Save The Children has proposed several measures. For example, reducing the number of places offered by highly concentrated schools when the traditional enrolment period ends (reduction of the ratio) and reserving places in other schools. The establishment of minimum and maximum quotas and the provision of information to families in vulnerable situations when choosing a school have also been mentioned. As well as the implementation of compensation or attraction policies: for example, by allocating more resources to these centers, controlling fees to guarantee real gratuitousness, developing incentives for teachers...