UNICEF and ombudsman warn school textbook costs are 'illegal'
Wednesday, September 10, 2014 @ 8:10 PM
THE national ombudsman and UNICEF have called for the financial pressure on parents to buy school textbooks to be 'reduced to the minimum'.
Soledad Becerríl, Spain's current ombudsman, stresses that in accordance with the Constitution all children have the right to a free education up to the end of compulsory schooling aged 16.
And yet, every September, mums and dads have to fork out literally hundreds of euros on school textbooks which are only used for one year.
With at least one textbook per school subject, meaning a minimum of 12 and costing upwards of 20 euros each – and now attracting top-rate IVA at 21% rather than, until two years ago, the bottom rate of 4% - parents who cannot find any type of job are often forced to choose between feeding their children or sending them to school with the correct set books.
Last September, the situation reached crisis point with numerous pupils turning up without books and having to either share those of their classmates, or miss out on a vital chunk of their lessons unless teachers had time to make stacks of photocopies.
Some children were reluctant to go to school because they felt silly and singled out for not having books.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com