Spain adds 800 teachers to schools in Ceuta and Melilla

Secretary of State for Education Abelardo de la Rosa told the Senate that the Ministry of Education has reinforced the teaching staff in the Spanish autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla with nearly 800 new teachers since the 2017‑2018 school year. The increase has cut student‑teacher ratios by about 28 % in early childhood education in Ceuta and 25 % in Melilla, and by roughly 24 % and 20 % respectively in primary schools.

The government also signed contracts to build two new early‑childhood centres, allocating more than €4 million, and provided a €615,750 subsidy to each city for school‑maintenance costs. Special‑needs provision was expanded with 20 new classrooms for students with disabilities (10 per city) and 13 autism‑focused classrooms opened over the past four years.

Additional measures include doubling the number of guidance counselors in most secondary schools, boosting scholarships to over 4,600 recipients, and investing €1.65 billion in digitalisation – €297 million for teacher training, €989 million for digital resources and €358 million for the Escuela 4.0 programme. De la Rosa said the aim is to consolidate progress and strengthen equity in the education system.