Plans for a Republican school

“Schools are the shield of the Republic and the seedbed of the republicans and democrats of tomorrow”, proclaimed Manuel Azaña in a speech in Baracaldo, near Bilbao, in 1935. In this sentence he summarized one of the Republic’s principal reforms – education – the goal of which was to create future citizens.

In 1930, illiteracy rates in Spain were very high, with around 40 per cent of the population unable to read or write. Thee modernization of the education system undertaken by the Republic sought to eliminate this chronic problem, believing that an educated society would produce a freer, happier citizenry with a better quality of life that could think for itself instead of following the instructions of the Church or the political bosses (caciques). However, these reforms faced the opposition of the Church, which controlled most of the primary schools and all, of the secondary ones and saw these changes as an attempt by the state to take over its power.

To weaken ecclesiastical control over education, the government dissolved the Society of Jesus, passed the Law of Religious Congregations, nationalized ecclesiastical property and, following the example of what countries like France and Italy had done earlier in the century, banned the religious orders from education. The Church, which, following instructions from the Vatican, had given the Republic a cautious reception, saw these measures – and others dealing with the family -  as a declaration of war. Thus began a conflict with the state that led the Church to use its network of associations to encourage the reorganization of the political right on the one hand, and stimulate confrontation using parents as the vanguard of confrontation on the other. Priests incited the faithful from the pulpit, telling them not to send their children to school, and in some rural communities, teachers were ostracized by their neighbours.

This conflict made what was already a titanic task even more difficult. Most schools were in rural areas where a small number of teachers  poorly-trained and poorly-paid teachers taught very large classes. Theis situation was reflected in the popular saying “to be more hungry than a school teacher”.  The Republican government increased teachers’ salaries, improved their training and created a number of workshops. The goal was to significantly increase the number trained professionals and make it easier for them to enter the system.

The provision of universal education ran into another problem: the shortage of school buildings. The Ministry of Public Instruction approved an ambitious plan to build 27,000 schools through the country in eight years. The plans, like the one shown here, foresaw model modern, multi-use buildings designed for the students’ needs. These designs were based on the newest pedagogical theories, which privileged open spaces, light, and contact with nature.

The brevity of the Republican period meant that this plan was not fully realized and only 7,000 of these schools were actually built.

FMP