Unqualified teachers run nautical vocational school in Palma

Pianist and chemist teach nautical courses at public vocational school in Palma

Michael Méndez González left his job as a carpenter to study the higher-level Machines degree at the Centre Integrat de Formació Professional Nauticopesquera in Palma. He is about to turn 37, has one year left, and antiestéticars his effort may be wasted. Not because of pending exams: some of his professors lack the qualifications for what they teach. A piano teacher, a chemist, and an engineer have been teaching nautical subjects for a week without the Merchant Navy title required by international regulations, which also apply in Spain. The fourth new hire, a psychologist, took up her post but resigned the next day.

The faculty consists of 23 teachers. Four do not meet the requirements. And the center, located in the Dique del Oeste, boasts 221 years of history and international recognition that is now wavering.

How does a piano teacher end up teaching nautical subjects?

According to the debate, the entry route was the stabilization process for temporary staff, where the administration made permanent those who had chained together substitutions for years. The criticism of the call design is that it did not filter by specialty: a degree, bachelor's, or engineering qualification was enough. The position was awarded through merit-based competition—other degrees, training courses—without the specific knowledge test required for open recruitment. In practice, according to this account, no one checked if the applicant had ever set foot on a ship before assigning them a commercial fishing classroom.

"Not only are they not merchant mariners, they don't even have basic training, nor the PER, nor any navigation qualification; they have never stepped onto a ship," summarizes José Gil Fanjul, a merchant mariner and teacher at the center since 2009. His account of recent weeks includes the pianist joking in class that she only understands population density when she was supposed to explain density. The chemist and she have already requested part-time work; the engineer remains full-time despite lacking the title.

What risks exist in teaching without a merchant navy title?

"One of these men working with 400-volt tensions could kill a student. There is a very high risk, but Educació seems unwilling to understand it," warns the same teacher. In a Machines degree, this phrase is not hallway hyperbole. And there is a second problem, less visible and much more expensive: the school provides non-recreational vocational training, and its accreditation depends on the faculty meeting the standard. Marina Mercante warned in early summer that if teachers without the required title were hired, the center could lose it.

Panic has spread among students, who antiestéticar they have thrown two years of training overboard. Students have filled the center with posters and banners denouncing the situation.

Prosecutor's office, two inspections, and 70 cases in the Balearics

The issue has bounced between departments for months. The case was reported to the Prosecutor's Office in June and expanded in September. There are appeals filed with the Conselleria d'Educació, notices to the Inspectorate and the Ministry of Education. Marina Mercante has conducted two inspections and is the only body to respond, siding with the complainants. According to the complainants, the Conselleria has not responded.

Across the Balearic Islands, an estimated 70 cases involve vocational education teachers teaching subjects for which they are untrained, mostly in the Part Forana (outside Palma). ANPE has called on teachers to act responsibly to avoid professional intrusion.

Teachers in public employment

To gauge the scale of the mess, look at the totals. According to a breakdown provided by a debate participant, education and university account for 27.27% of public employment, ahead of health (19%), municipalities (19%), justice, security, and defense (14%), and the remaining administrative block (20%). By the same count, there are more teachers than judges, police, civil guards, and military personnel combined, and 172 school days per year, with December, January, and April having the fewest days. Open recruitment, as another participant recalls, does not require a nautical title: it requires a university degree and the teaching master's, trinc by a competitive exam. In a recent Primary Education call, 86% of applicants failed an exam with questions at a 12-year-old level. Stabilization, however, grants tenure without a specific subject test. With these two doors, the question is no longer who explains density: it is what is actually being evaluated.