School year pass and subsistence income

PUPILS throughout Spain will not lose this school year and will generally go on to the next, according to special measures announced on Wednesday by education minister Isabel Celaá

The closure of all schools for over a month without any imminent date to return has led the government to schedule a decree whereby the school year will officially end in June, as was originally established in the calendar.

Practically all 8.2million non-university students will automatically go on to the following school year, although the minister has insisted this is not a 'general pass'.

A student could still have to repeat the same school year if teachers can present a full report to back their decision - although the minister admitted their will be very few cases and reasons must be very strong and must be accompanied by specific plans to support such pupils.

The measure will be approved after a video-conference meeting was held by the ministry with representatives of all 17 regional education councils responsible for applying the new regulation in their territories. The Valencia regional education authority has welcomed the measure but Murcia region has not.

Meanwhile, some regions could keep schools open in summer months for voluntary back-up classes and activities.

Subsistence income

The minister for social security, José Luis Escrivá announced that next month the government will approve a subsistence income that will benefit 100,000 single-parent families.

This basic income will be open to those who do not have to make IRPF tax declarations (usually used as a basic condition to access benefits in Spain) due to their low income and even those who live thanks to the socalled black economy.

The minister also said the subsistence income is not only aimed at the duration of the Covid-19 crisis, but is intended to be a permanent benefit accessible to vulnerable families.

Meanwhile, the latest figure of those affected by temporary layoffs in Spain (ERTE) is now estimated at four million people (16% of the active population), although only half are already claiming unemployment benefits - the remainder are still pending their company's ERTE approval by regional employment offices.

According to Sr Escrivá, around 6,3 million residents in Spain will access benefits during the Covid-19 crisis (a figure that includes all four million included in ERTEs, those who were laidoff because their temporary contracts were not renewed and those receiving other specific benefits such a the selfemployed, and those on sick-leave having contracted the virus).