Por María Izquierdo 
- The Minister of Education delivered the lecture ‘Best practices in governments to achieve the best academic results’ at the XXIII CECEIB Breakfasts, held today in Palma de Mallorca
- Rocío Lucas highlighted the free first cycle of Early Childhood Education as an example of the success of Castilla y León’s educational model, benefiting more than 22,000 families this academic year
- The representative of the regional government also emphasized some of the pioneering programs in the Community, as well as their strong commitment to a unique University Entrance Exam (PAU) nationwide
May 29, 2025
Castilla y León | Department of Education
The Minister of Education, Rocío Lucas, emphasized the commitment of the Castilla y León government to continue improving the educational system of the Community in her presentation on ‘Best practices in governments to achieve the best academic results’, held today in Palma de Mallorca as part of the XXIII CECEIB Breakfasts, organized by the Spanish Confederation of Education Centers in the Balearic Islands.
The Education Secretary outlined some of the keys to success of «an educational system that has established itself as a benchmark both in our country and beyond our borders,» noted Rocío Lucas, who added: «It is an example that demonstrates that in Spain, we can achieve quality education that can compete with the best educational systems in the world. It even sparks the interest of other countries, to the point of sending delegations to learn about our policies.»
She proudly mentioned having a top-level teaching staff in constant training. «We were the first region to adopt a Professional Competence Model for Teachers and currently, the training we offer almost doubles the national average hours, 77 hours/teacher per year, compared to the national average of 42 hours. Each year, 90% of our teachers participate in some form of training, while the Spanish average is 80%.»
Additionally, the Education Secretary also highlighted the Program for Improving Educational Success, which Castilla y León implemented before any other region, and the Mathematics Improvement Plan, praised by the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical, and Natural Sciences. «Our future is built on principles such as the solid education of our youth or the culture of effort, not on a constant reduction of knowledge, as has been done in Castilla y León through the development of the regional curriculum.»
In this context, Rocío Lucas recalled the efforts made by her department over many years to achieve a single University Entrance Exam (PAU), «a repeated demand not only from my region but also from other regions and many other entities, and of course, from the students themselves who are the main affected. The response from the Spanish government has been to definitively give up on this single exam. Nevertheless, I want to highlight the great work done by departments like those in the Balearic Islands or ours to, within the limits of our competencies, achieve the most homogeneous exam possible. This is now a reality and will be evident in the exams taking place on June 3, 4, and 5.»
Implementation of universal and free education for 0 to 3-year-olds
Rocío Lucas emphasized the implementation of free education for 0-3-year-olds in the Community, which has been well received by families. More than 22,000 families have enrolled their children in this educational stage at no cost, saving an average of 2,000 euros per child per year. «Castilla y León has been a pioneer thanks to the effort made with regional funds, while other regions have only used funds provided by the government, intended solely for public education. In our case, we have met all the existing demand and even exceeded it, offering up to 26,000 places.»
Regarding the insufficient or non-existent funding from the State, the Education Secretary wanted to emphasize the need for the funding model to take into account the specific characteristics of regions like Castilla y León. «Without this, we cannot continue to talk in a rational and democratic way about true equality among Spaniards.»