Spain teacher exams: unfilled spots and spelling failures

Teacher Recruitment in Spain: Unfilled Vacancies and Mass Failures

The public education system in Spain faces an uncomfortable paradox: there is an oversupply of candidates but a shortage of qualified teachers. Annual calls for Secondary Education, Vocational Training (FP), Arts, and Language Schools leave a trail of unfilled positions, not because no one wants them, but because examination boards fail to find applicants who pass the tests. In Aragon, the results of the latest exams have reignited controversy: there are numerous zeros due to spelling mistakes and a high number of invalidated papers. The Department of Education justifies this with a slogan that has become common: "We want the best."

This problem is not new. In the Community of Madrid, teacher recruitment has faced years of complaints about the high passing threshold and the feeling that the Administration announces more vacancies than it intends to fill. Some argue that this strategy avoids binding civil servants for decades and keeps the door open for annual "historic" public employment offers.

Why do vacancies remain unfilled in Spanish teacher exams?

Some point to the low level of candidates. Examination boards, composed of randomly selected active teachers, face written exams spanning six or seven pages that must be read in full. Recently, spelling can invalidate the entire test: if the first grader detects errors, the paper is annulled. This explains why zeros accumulate in certain specialties.

But there is another interpretation. Some argue that leaving posts unfilled in Education has always been constant. This inflates the list of interim teachers (*interinos*) and makes it easier to cover difficult assignments that no one else wants. The result is an army of temporary teachers who, in some cases, chain together fifteen years as interims without securing a permanent post.

The business of eternal temporality

The figure of the "eternal interim" generates division. Some argue that a temporary worker should not stay on the waiting list for more than two or three years: if they want to be a civil servant, they should take the exam again as a newcomer. Others defend that after years of service, the position should be consolidated. The clash is frontal.

Critics of consolidation note that the current system allows some interims to live off the waiting list without opening a book again: they prepare thoroughly for their first exam, get a score that grants access to the list, and keep that qualification indefinitely. Meanwhile, newly passed civil servants have priority in choosing locations but are obliged to participate in transfer competitions and cannot refuse their assigned post.

The trap of tailored vacancies in Catalonia

In Catalonia, the system is reportedly even more egregious. So-called tailored vacancies have been invented: if a school principal wants to keep a specific interim teacher, requirements are crafted so that only that candidate meets them. The civil servant who worked hard to pass the exam is displaced and left out. Many teachers wonder if the effort was worth it.

The background is demographic. The number of children entering primary and secondary schools in the coming years is known from census data: it is decreasing. A one-to-one replacement of teachers makes little sense. The conflict with private-subsidized schools (*concertada*) is merely a fight for the last crumbs of the banquet.

The decline in candidate proficiency

Those who have chaired examination boards describe a chilling panorama. Candidates make spelling errors on every line, write like children, and take offense at low grades. Appeals include claims such as "they did not appreciate my creativity," the fruit of family and social overprotection that has told them all their lives they are special, unique, and brilliant.

The most pessimistic diagnosis is that the plan is working: new teachers are largely incapable of writing and arguing effectively. Meanwhile, students are dumbed down by mobile phones. The circle closes.

Is it an Administration conspiracy?

Not exactly. The fraction of unfilled vacancies varies significantly by specialty. Mathematics often leaves many spots empty, but Counseling covers them all; in fact, boards struggle with scheduling because too many pass the first stage. Ultimately, it depends on the board. There are no strange directives about filling or not filling posts.

What exists is a structural problem: some argue that education was destroyed years ago and no one wants to enter a cage with thirty beasts daily, filling out paperwork and bearing all the blame, for €1,800 a month. Let someone else's mother handle it.

What if the problem isn't the level of the candidates, but the system's inability to retain good teachers?