The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MEFP) is the

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of the

Government of Spain gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua , image = , caption = Logo of the Government of Spain , headerstyle = background-color: #efefef , label1 = Role , data1 = Executive power , label2 = Established , da ...

responsible for proposing and carrying out the government policy on

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

and

vocational training Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an ind ...

, including all the teachings of the

education system The educational system generally refers to the structure of all institutions and the opportunities for obtaining education within a country. It includes all pre-school institutions, starting from family education, and/or early childhood education ...

except

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

education, without prejudice to the competences of the

National Sports Council The National Sports Council (NSC) is the national overseer of the control authorities of 41 different sports in Bangladesh. It is responsible to the Bangladesh Ministry of Youth and Sports and is based in Purana Paltan, Dhaka. History After t ...

in matters of sports education. Likewise, it is also the responsibility of this Department the promotion of cooperation actions and, in coordination with the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

, the promotion of international relations in the field of non-university education. The

Education in Spain Education in Spain is regulated by the ''Ley Orgánica 8/2013, de 9 de diciembre, para la mejora de la calidad educativa'' (LOMCE, Organic Law for the improvement of educational quality) that expands upon Article 27 of the Spanish Constitution ...

is established as a decentralized system in which the

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

has powers over the

basic BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...

and

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

while the central government establishes the general basis of the system and it is responsible for the

tertiary education Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

. Currently, the Education Ministry has no authority over universities because it is the responsibility of the

Ministry of Universities The Ministry of Universities is a ministerial department in the Government of Spain responsible for proposing and carrying out the government policy on universities as well as representing Spain in the European Union and other international organ ...

. As of 2018, there are more than 550,000 school teachers and more than 7,000 university professors. The MEFP is headed by the Minister of Education, who is appointed by the

King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

at request of the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. The Minister is assisted by the

Secretary of State for Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. ...

, the Secretary-General for Vocational Training (with the rank of Under-Secretary) and the Under-Secretary of the Ministry. In addition, in order to coordinate the education system it exists the Sectoral Conference on Education that is composed by the Education Minister and the Regional Ministers of Education. Since July 2021 the current minister is

Pilar Alegría María del Pilar Alegría Continente (born 1 November 1977) is a Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) politician who has been minister of Education and Vocational Training since 12 July 2021. Alegría gained a master's degree in primary educ ...

, from the

Spanish Socialist Workers Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gov ...

History

Early period

The Ministry of Education was created during the regency of

Maria Christina of Austria Maria Christina Henriette Desideria Felicitas Raineria of Austria ( es, María Cristina de Habsburgo-Lorena; 21 July 1858 – 6 February 1929) was the second queen consort of Alfonso XII of Spain. She was queen regent during the vacancy of the ...

by 1900 Budget Act. However, the government policy on education appeared time before. Section 369 of the

Constitution of 1812 The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy ( es, link=no, Constitución Política de la Monarquía Española), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz ( es, link=no, Constitución de Cádiz) and as ''La Pepa'', was the first Constituti ...

created the Directorate-General for Studies for the Inspection of Public Teaching. Thirteen years later the Directorate-General for Studies acquired the name of Inspectorate-General for Public Instruction and, in 1834 it recovers its original denomination. The Royal Decree of May 13, 1846, change its name to Directorate-General for Public Instruction. It depended on many departments, going through the Secretariat of the Dispatch of Grace and Justice under the reign of

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

; the Secretariat of the Dispatch of Development (later called of the Interior) in 1832 with powers on public instruction, universities, economic societies, schools, Royal Academies, Primary Schools and Conservatories of Art and music; the Secretariat of the Dispatch of the Governance of the Realm in 1835 and Secretariat of the Dispatch of Commerce, Instruction and Public Works in 1847. Since 1855, these responsibilities returned to the Ministry of Development and stayed that way until 1900. During this 45 years, the Directorate-General for Public Instruction assumed powers on Culture and it was divided in offices: universities; high schools; basic schools; archives, libraries and museums; fine arts and development; Accounting and the Intellectual and Industrial Property Bulletin.

Late period

Antonio García Alix, de Kaulak (cropped)

In 1900, the Ministry of Development split into two ministries, being one of them the Ministry of Public Instruction and Fine Arts. This ministry, that would maintain its denomination until the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, it was driven by prime minister

Francisco Silvela Francisco Silvela y Le Vielleuze (15 December 1843, in Madrid – 29 May 1905, in Madrid) was a Spanish politician who became Prime Minister of Spain on 3 May 1899, succeeding Práxedes Mateo Sagasta. He served in this capacity until 22 October ...

who appointed Antonio García Alix as the first Education Minister. PM Silvela had assumed the office a year before and after the disaster of the 1898, it was needed a cut of the

government expenditure Public expenditure is spending made by the government of a country on collective needs and wants, such as pension, provisions, security, infrastructure, etc. Until the 19th century, public expenditure was limited as laissez faire philosophies be ...

. In order to comply with this, in April Silvela reshuffled the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

suppressing the Ministry of Overseas —which lost the sense of its existence after the loss of the last colonies— and the Ministry of Development, creating in its place the Ministry of Public Instruction and of Agriculture. With the premiership of the

Count of Romanones Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

it would begin to shape a model of Ministry with timid regenerationist airs. Initially, it had four sections: Universities and Institutes; First Teaching and Normal Schools; Fine arts; and Civil Constructions and Special Schools, whose work consisted in the promotion of public and private education in its different classes and degrees, the promotion of science and letters, Fine Arts, Archives, Libraries and Museums. It was also part of the ministry the Directorate-General for the Geographical and Statistical Institute. Throughout those years, the Department widened its structure, with the creation of the Directorate-General for Primary Education (1911) and the Directorate-General for Fine Arts (1915). It was also at this time that the current headquarters were built on

Alcalá Street Alcalá, Alcalà or Alcala may refer to: People *Alcalá (surname), includes a list of people with that name Places Bolivia * Alcalá (Tomina), a town in Bolivia Colombia * Alcalá, Valle del Cauca, Colombia Philippines *Alcala, Cagayan, a mun ...

36 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. In Second Republic, the Department assumed the competence on

Vocational Training Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an ind ...

(until then dependent of

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

) and the Directorate-General for Technical and Superior Education is created. Briefly, between May 1937 and March 1939, the ministry merged with the Ministry of Health. After the victory of

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

, the

Franco regime Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

change its name to Ministry of National Education and the Department assumed the management of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

and Maria Guerrero theaters, through the so-called National Council of Theaters, which in 1951 was ceded to the newly created

Ministry of Information and Tourism The Ministry of Information and Tourism () was a ministerial department of the Government of Spain created in 1951 during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to control information and the censorship to press and radio. The ministry also assume ...

. During this period, the

Spanish National Research Council The Spanish National Research Council ( es, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Its main objective is to develop and promote res ...

was also created within the Ministry. Through Law 35/1966, of May 31, the Department changed its name to Ministry of Education and Science, which would last three decades. According to statements by the education minister Manuel Lora-Tamayo, it was intended, following recommendations of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

and the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

, to enhance the scientific and research work of the Spanish Administration and put it in direct relation with the

. An Undersecretariat for Higher Education and Research was also created.

Democracy

During the reign of

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

, the

Spanish transition to democracy Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

started and started the specialization of the

Administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

by creating new ministries for specific work areas. In this sense, in 1977 the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) *Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

was created assuming the Directorate-General for Artistic and Cultural Heritage. In 1979 it was created the Ministry of Universities and Research assuming those functions but was suppressed in 1981. In 1990, the

was integrated in the Ministry. After 1996, both Education and Culture merge again and it was created the Secretariats of State for Universities, Research and Development and for Culture, as well as the General Secretariat for Education and Vocational Training. However, under the second term of

José María Aznar José María Alfredo Aznar López (; born 25 February 1953) is a Spanish politician who was the prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He led the People's Party (PP), the dominant centre-right political party in Spain. A member of the Fre ...

(2000-2004), Education loses the research competences for the benefit of the new Ministry of Science and Innovation. In 2004, the new government of

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections ...

recovered the classic name of the Ministry of Education and Science. Again, Culture acquires ministerial rank and Science and Research return to Education. Only for four years, because in 2008 the Ministry of Science and Innovation was created assuming the responsibilities on University Education and Science. In return, the Ministry of Education is assigned the competence on Social Policy. This situation is maintained for one year: In 2009 the functions on tertiary education are returned to Education and the Social Policy goes to

Health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

. In the first government of

Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey (; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a vote of no confidence ousted his government. On 5 June 2018, he announced his resignation as People's Party lead ...

, since December 22, 2011, the Ministry of Education is merged again with Culture in the new Department of Education, Culture and Sport. After the motion of no confidence against Rajoy of 2018 and the formation of the new government of Pedro Sanchez in June 2018, the Ministry again broke away from Culture and also loses competences on universities, in favor of the

Ministry of Science A Science Ministry or Department of Science is a ministry or other government agency charged with science. The ministry is often headed by a Minister for Science. List of Ministries of Science Many countries have a Ministry of Science or Ministry ...

. It is now called the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training. In 2020, some responsibilities of the Ministry of Labour on vocational training in the labour market were transferred to the Ministry of Education and the vocational training itself was boosted by promoting the Directorate-General for Training to General Secretariat.

Structure

The current structure of the Department of Education is: *The Secretariat of State for Education. ** The Directorate-General for Evaluation and Territorial Cooperation. ** The Directorate-General for Educational Planning and Management. *The General Secretariat for Vocational Training. **The Deputy Directorate-General for Vocational Training Organization and Innovation. **The Deputy Directorate-General for Orientation and Lifelong Learning. **The Deputy Directorate-General for Vocational Training Planning and Management. **The National Institute for Qualifications. *The Undersecretariat of Education and Vocational Training. ** The Technical General Secretariat. **The Budget Office. **The Administrative Office. **The Deputy Directorate-General for Personnel. **The Deputy Directorate-General for Information and Communications Technologies. **The Deputy Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Management. **The Inspectorate-General of Services.

List of Ministers

Regency of María Cristina for Alfonso XIII (1885-1902)

Reign of
Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...
(1902–1923)

Dictadura de
Primo de Rivera Primo de Rivera is a Spanish family prominent in politics of the 19th and 20th centuries: Fernando Primo de Rivera (1831–1921), Spanish politician and soldier Miguel Primo de Rivera (1870–1930), nephew of Fernando, military officer and dictat ...
(1923–1931)

II Republic (1931–1939)

Francoism Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spa ...
(1936–1975)

Reign of
Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...
(born 1975)

Reign of
Felipe VI Felipe VI (;, * eu, Felipe VI.a, * ca, Felip VI, * gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, and h ...
(2014– )

Since the reign of

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...

, the current Ministry of Education has successively been known by the following titles: * Ministry of Public Instruction and Fine Arts (1900–1937) (1). * Ministry of Public Instruction and Health (1937–1939) (2). * Commission of Culture and Education of the Technical Board of the State (1936–1938) (3). * Ministry of Education (1938–1968, 1976–1978, 2009–2011) (4). * Ministry of Education and Science (1973–1976, 1978–1981, 1981–1996, 2004–2008) (5). * Ministry of Education and University (1968–1973, 1981) (6). * Ministry of Education and Culture (1996–2000) (7). * Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (2000–2004, 2011–2018) (8). * Ministry of Education, Social policy and Sport (2008–2009) (9). *Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (2018- ) (10).

Notes and references

Official website of Ministry of Education

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry of Education (Spain) 1900 establishments in Spain

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

Spain, Education

Calle de Alcalá