General Law of Education 1970

The General Law of Education (G.L.E.) or General Law 14/1970, of August 4th, of Education and Funding for the Educational Reform, was promoted in Spain by José Luis Villar Palasí, Spanish politician from the Francoist regime and minister of education between 1968 and 1973. It was a law that affected the entire Spanish educational system, restructuring every educational stage from preschool to university, something that had not happened since Moyano’s Law of Public Instruction in 1857. By means of the law, it was established the Basic General Education (B.G.E.) amplifying the mandatory and free school attendance until 14 years old, dividing it in eight grades. Afterwards, students could choose to continue their academic training with the Polyvalent Unified Bachelor (P.U.B.) of three years and the following University Orientation Class (U.O.C.), destined to those who pretended to access college. The Professional Training (P.T.) was established, destined to those who didn’t obtain the high-school graduate or wanted to access faster to the labour market. Minor impulses were initiated in order to strengthen the very poor attention to the different specific educational needs of student through the so called “special education”. One of the significant changes happened in the training of teachers, which obtained university status turning into a three year degree or diploma course. In addition, it was established a preschool teaching of two types: Maternal. From two to four years old, voluntary and given at public and private centres. Preschool. From four to six years old, voluntary and given at public and private centres. The Organic Law regulatory of the Right to Education of 1985 performs modifications at a social and a political level, especially in everything concerning the impulse to community participation in education and the autonomy of governments and the democratization of the scholar system. But it is not until 1990 when a new situation for a general restructuration of the educative system is given again through the Organic Law of General Organization of the Educational System (O.L.G.E.S.) Full official text of the Law.