Salvador Illa confronts education crisis and housing reforms in Catalonia

Catalan President Salvador Illa is confronting several pressing issues as his administration enters its second year. The most urgent is the education sector, where Minister Esther Niubo faces criticism over teacher strikes, the exclusion of Catalonia from PISA assessments, and controversial measures such as deploying police in schools and inserting agents into teaching assemblies. Continued unrest could lead to further strikes at the start of the new school year.

Housing policy is also under scrutiny. A proposed law to limit speculative property purchases has been challenged by the Council of Constitutional Guarantees as potentially violating the Statute of Autonomy and the Spanish Constitution. The government is still working to establish a directorate to monitor speculators and to create a register of large property owners, while public housing construction proceeds under existing plans.