There are 63.712 places up for grabs, which will be contested by 165.578 precarious teachers (already in possession of the qualification) in the competition of the school that kicks off on Thursday 28 April and which will consist of two tests. “It is an unprecedented stabilization process – underlines the Ministry of Education – In September 2015 we hired around 90 precarious workers who had been stationed for years in the old exhaustive rankings (Gae). With this new competition, one teacher out of three will be placed in the role. A very high percentage: the last public selection in 2012 advertised 11 places and over 320 competed for them”.
It is the "war on the substitute", to quote Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Among the participants, over eight out of ten are women and the average age is 38,6 years. Most of them are candidates in possession of the Tfa (Active Training Internship) and the Pas (the special qualifying course reserved for teachers with three years of experience). In short, those who arrive at the test on April 28 have already passed a very tough selection, with ten exams and discussion of the final thesis. “The whole approach is geared towards rewarding meritocracy”, the ministry continues.
But the road to the competition was far from easy. The access barriers imposed by the Good school they raised the non-enabled, who presented a shower of appeals to the TAR and made even the authorized themselves turn up their noses. The MIUR also had to deal with a series of bureaucratic hitches, such as the shortage of commissioners or the controversy over the late publication of the notice, expected by 1 December and postponed to 29 February.
But the aspect that most worries the temporary workers is the constraint, imposed by a European ruling, which prohibits the renewal of temporary contracts beyond 36 months. The perspective, for those who do not pass the competition, is of work another three years as a precarious worker and then say goodbye to teaching. Fears that the ministry tries to dispel: "The Good School has established the principle whereby it returns to ban on a regular basis: the next competition will be in three years". Yesterday, the Committee for precarious teachers asked the ministry to take a step back. “The procedure goes on regularly”, is the reply. On April 28, the bell for the school's precarious workers will ring.
