One of every four new pupils is an immigrant

from the SUR in English

England, Argentina, Morocco and Ecuador are the principal countries of origin of the foreign pupils

They receive Spanish classes outside normal school hours

The increase in the immigrant population of Malaga province is clearly reflected in its education system. A total of 271,000 pupils began the new school year this month, and almost eight per cent of them, amounting to 21,500, are foreigners. Furthermore, of the 4,000 new places in schools this year, almost a thousand are taken up by foreign pupils, which means that one in four of all new pupils are not Spanish, according to figures released by the Provincial Delegation for Education in the Junta de Andalucía.

Of all the foreign primary and secondary pupils in Malaga province, 10,000 are South Americans, most of these from Argentina and Ecuador. The rest, more than 11,000 of them, do not speak Spanish and are mainly British, Moroccan or Rumanian. The language barrier can be a great problem for many of them in integrating into Spanish society. For this reason, 78 temporary language adaptation classes have been initiated, with 81 new classes outside normal school hours and 81 more which provide special foreign culture classes, to help foreign pupils keep in touch with their roots. This multi-cultural phenomenon is ever more present in Spanish schools, not only because of the large number of foreigners attending Spanish schools but also the foreign languages being learned by Spanish children.

The Multi-lingual Plan was initiated last year without very much success, but this year 17 new centres have been added, and the plan has been put into action in nine primary schools and seven secondary schools in the province. This makes a total of 45 schools in which 22,700 pupils can study English, German and French, this last language being in more demand over recent years. Malaga will also be the only Andalucía province offering Chinese in a post-obligatory school, this being in Antequera.

Other new aspects of the new school year include two plans to encourage reading and sports among the youngsters of Malaga province. The first plan is to convert the school library in a favourite meeting place for the pupils, thereby stimulating their desire to read more, and the second plan is to create the biggest multi-sporting federation in the province, with more than 22,000 young people practising sports of all kinds, we are told by José Nieto, the provincial education delegate.

The so-called Education Data Transmission Network will be present in 123 primary and secondary schools this year, incorporating two new computer systems: the new Helvia free software platform and Bartic, the digital resources data bank.

Free books

Parents will also be facing the new school year with more enthusiasm. This year, all children attending primary school in the province will be given free text books, a measure that will extend to the rest of the obligatory educational system next year, thanks to a new book loan system that was instigated last year in Andalucía. Having a child in the primary or secondary school system means paying out between 175 and 280 euros each year in text books and other necessary school materials, we are told by the Andalusian Federation of Consumers and Al-Andalus Housewives. Last year, 30,000 children in Malaga benefited from this system, and this year the figure will rise to 90,000. Besides, some 41,000 children aged between three and four will also receive free books.

Another worry for many parents is finding a place for their children in the school of their choice. José Nieto said some weeks ago that 99 per cent of all requests would be accepted, although there are areas such as the Guadalhorce Valley and the N-340 from Manilva to Rincón de la Victoria where it would be difficult to plan places, due to the unchecked population increase in recent years.

With regard to this problem, he accuses some of the Town Halls of setting aside the worst land for the building of new schools, and demands that they decide instead on more adequate urban planning policies, as he puts it. He was, in turn, accused of speaking without having any basis for his accusations.

School year 2006-07

Pupils: 271,000 pupils, of whom 209,409 attend public schools, 47,587 attend semi-private schools and 13,814 attend private schools. Of the full number of pupils, almost eight per cent (21,500) are foreign. Of these, 10,000 are South American, mostly from Argentina (2,913) and Ecuador (1,034) and the rest are from countries like England (3,541), Morocco (1,844) and Rumania (573).

Teachers: 18,309 teachers, of whom 223 are new.

Schools: 762 schools, with seven new infant and primary schools and two secondary schools. The Junta plans to invest 131 million euros over the next five years. The plan includes the building of 21 new schools, 11 amplification projects, 83 modernisation projects and 23 re-construction projects.

Dates: Infant, primary, obligatory secondary and Special Education pupils began the school year on 15 September. Post-obligatory secondary, Special Regimen and Adult Education pupils began on 22 September.

Most relevant changes: The Reading and Library Plan, aimed at encouraging reading, involves the establishment of a Schools and Reading projects, and a Sports Programme for Schools over the next four years, in which 22,000 pupils from 132 federated schools will participate.

Legislation: The Living Together decree will be provisionally approved this year, and the first Andalusian Education Law next year.

Beating the bullies

The new Living Together Decree for schools, still awaiting approval by the Andalusian regional parliament, will include the initiation of a computer and telephone assessment service. This will be a telephone number for parents whose children are being bullied by other children in the school.

The service also takes into account possible threats to and ill-treatment of teachers.

Bullying in Spanish schools is on the increase in recent years, and the new system to fight it could be up and running this year.

The idea is to tackle the problem in a pacific manner before it becomes too serious to deal with at this level. Experts in this area will be on hand to advise parents, children and teachers on how best to deal with bullying in the schools.

Each school will put together its own plan of action, adapted to the particular requirements of the school and assisted by a wide network of school mediators and provincial commissions.

All will have their own vigilance systems, as well as rules of behaviour and protocols for dealing with individual cases of bullying.