The Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports (MEFPD) is the department of the

Government of Spain The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the ...

responsible for proposing and carrying out the government policy on

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

and

vocational training Vocational education is education that prepares people for a Skilled worker, skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self em ...

. This covers 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 educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

education—, including

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

, through 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 Prior ...

. 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 (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

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

Education in Spain Education in Spain is compulsory and free for all children aged between 6 and 16 years and is supported by the national government together with the governments of each of the country's 17 autonomous communities. In Spain, primary school and ...

is established as a decentralized system in which the

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

have powers over the

basic Basic or BASIC may refer to: Science and technology * BASIC, a computer programming language * Basic (chemistry), having the properties of a base * Basic access authentication, in HTTP Entertainment * Basic (film), ''Basic'' (film), a 2003 film ...

and

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

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

tertiary education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

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

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

on the advice of the

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. 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 president of the National Sports Council (with rank of secretary of state), the Secretary-General for Vocational Training (with the rank of under-secretary) and the Ministry's Under-Secretary. 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 minister has been

Pilar Alegría María del Pilar Alegría Continente (; born 1 November 1977) is a Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) politician from Zaragoza who has been minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports since 12 July 2021. Alegría gained a maste ...

, from the

Spanish Socialist Workers Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in government longer tha ...

History

Early period

The Ministry of Education was created during the

regency of Maria Christina of Austria Maria Christina of Austria was regent of Spain from the death of her husband, Alfonso XII, in November 1885 until their son, Alfonso XIII, turned sixteen and swore the Spanish Constitution of 1876, Constitution of 1876 in May 1902. Queen Maria Chr ...

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 (), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz () and nicknamed ''La Pepa'', was the first Constitution of Spain and one of the earliest codified constitutions in world history. The Constitution w ...

created the Directorate-General for Studies for the management of public education. 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 Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

; 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.

1886 project

The growing importance of education was reflected not only by the approval of several education laws of 1857, but also by a Royal Decree sanctioned by the queen regent,

Maria Christina of Austria Maria Christina Henriette Desideria Felicitas Raineria of Austria (; 21 July 1858 – 6 February 1929) was Queen of Spain as the second wife of Alfonso XII. She was queen regent during the vacancy of the throne between her husband's death in No ...

, on May 7, 1886, which established the division of the Ministry of Development into a Ministry of Public Instruction and of Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts, and a Ministry of Public Works, Agriculture, Industry and Trade. Despite that the decree mandated that the new ministries would be established on July 1, 1886, this did not materialize until the 1900 Budget Act.

Late period

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 is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

, 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 Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual o ...

. 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 * Filin ...

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 mu ...

36 in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. In Second Republic, the Department assumed the competence on

Vocational Training Vocational education is education that prepares people for a Skilled worker, skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self em ...

(until then dependent of 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" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...

, the

Franco regime Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

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 of press and radio. The ministry also assume ...

. During this period, the

Spanish National Research Council The Spanish National Research Council (, 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 research that will help bring about scientific and techn ...

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; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

and the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

, 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 (; 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 November 1975 until Abdication of Juan Carlos I, his abdic ...

, the

Spanish transition to democracy The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...

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: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

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 o ...

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 (Spain), People's Party (PP), the dominant centre-right political party in Spai ...

(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. O ...

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 has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

. 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 2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, vote of no confidence ousted his government. A m ...

, on December 22, 2011, the Ministry of Education was again merged 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 Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is ...

in June 2018, the Ministry again broke away from Culture and also loses competences on universities, in favor of the Ministry of Science. It is now called the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, MEFP. In 2020, some responsibilities of the Ministry of Labour on vocational training in the labour market were transferred to the MEFP, which 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 Deputy Directorate-General for Academic Organization *** The Deputy Directorate-General for Territorial Cooperation and Educational Innovation *** The National Institute for Educational Evaluation *** The National Institute for Educational Technologies and Teacher Training ** The Directorate-General for Educational Planning and Management *** The Deputy Directorate-General for Scholarships, Study Aid and Educational Promotion *** The Foreign Education Unit *** The Deputy Directorate-General for Centers and Programs *** The Deputy Directorate-General for Education Inspection *The General Secretariat for Vocational Training **The Directorate-General for Planning, Innovation and Management of Vocational Training ***The Deputy Directorate-General for Programs and Management ***The Deputy Directorate-General for Centers and Entrepreneurship ***The Center for Innovation and High-Performance Technique on Vocational Training **The Deputy Directorate-General for Vocational Training Organization **The Deputy Directorate-General for Orientation and Lifelong Learning **The Deputy Directorate-General for Evaluation and Quality * The

(CSD) ** The Directorate-General for Sports. *** The Deputy Directorate-General for High Competition *** The Deputy Directorate-General for Sports Promotion and Innovation *** The Deputy Directorate-General for Women and Sport *** The Deputy Directorate-General for the Sport Legal Regime *** The General Secretariat *** The Deputy Directorate-General for Sport Sciences ** The President's Cabinet ** The Deputy Directorate-General for Professional Sport and Financial Control ** The Press Office ** The Spanish Anti-Doping Agency *The Undersecretariat of Education, Vocational Training and Sports ** The Technical General Secretariat *** The Deputy Technical General Secretariat *** The Deputy Directorate-General for Appeals and Court Relations *** The Deputy Directorate-General for Statistics and Studies *** The Deputy Directorate-General for Citizen Services, Documentation and Publications **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 Management and the European Social Fund **The Inspectorate-General of Services

List of Ministers

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

Reign of
Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...
(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 (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...
(1936–1975)

Reign of
Juan Carlos I Juan 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 November 1975 until Abdication of Juan Carlos I, his abdic ...
(born 1975)

Reign of
Felipe VI Felipe VI (; Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. In accordance with the Spanish Constitution, as monarch, he is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed For ...
(2014– )

Since the reign of

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...

, 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 (2018–2023) (10). *Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports (2023–) (11).

Notes and references

Official website of Ministry of Education

External links

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

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Spain, Education

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

Calle de Alcalá