Spain presents decree mandating in-person hours and student caps for private online vocational schools

New attendance requirements

On 28 September 2026, Spanish Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports Milagros Tolón presented a draft royal decree to regulate private vocational training (Formación Profesional) centres. The proposed decree establishes mandatory in-person instruction for distance-learning programs, which currently operate without physical attendance requirements beyond final exams. Under the draft text, virtual vocational degrees will require between 15% and 39% mandatory in-person training, excluding external workplace internships. Blended or semi-presencial programs must conduct between 40% and 60% of their teaching hours in person. High-responsibility qualifications, including dental hygiene and high-voltage electrical installation, will face requirements at the upper end of the spectrum set by ministerial orders.

Introducing the practical training requirements, Tolón explained the rationale for mandatory attendance across vocational degrees.

A boy or girl studying for a mechanics degree has to know an engine from the inside, or a student training in dentistry-related studies has to know how to treat a patient. If they take an online hairdressing module, they must have hours of practical work and aesthetics; it cannot be that they have never been to a centre or a laboratory.

Class size caps and curriculum rules

The royal decree introduces nationwide caps on student-to-teacher ratios for virtual courses, replacing disparate regional rules. Online vocational courses will be limited to 80 students per teacher in the 2028-2029 academic year, 60 students per teacher in 2029-2030, and 50 students per teacher in 2030-2031. In-person vocational classrooms will be restricted to a maximum of 25 students per teacher, a limit that also applies to the in-person modules of distance-learning courses. The decree also prohibits single-course niche offerings, requiring private providers to deliver structured pathways. Institutions must offer either an integrated vertical pathway covering basic, intermediate, and advanced cycles within one discipline, or a horizontal offering spanning at least two distinct professional families with a minimum of two cycles each.

Growth in private vocational enrolment

The draft arrives following sustained expansion across Spain's vocational education sector. Total vocational enrolment reached 1,248,046 students for the 2026-2027 academic year, representing a 3.1% annual increase and a 57% expansion over the past decade. Private non-subsidized centres have expanded at twice the speed of public institutions, growing 467% from 39,941 students in the 2013-2014 school year to 226,661 students nationwide, according to data from CaixaBank Dualiza and Orkestra. In Catalonia, private vocational enrolment increased by 845% between 2013-2014 and 2022-2023, rising from 8,877 students to 83,893. Private vocational schools currently account for nearly 35% of all enrolled vocational students across 1,417 centres nationwide.

Legislative timeline and industry response

The draft decree was submitted to public consultation on Monday and presented to regional education authorities at the Sectoral Conference on Vocational Training. Because the measure takes the form of a royal decree, it requires approval only from the Council of Ministers and will not face votes in Congress or the Senate. The central government intends to complete cabinet approval before the end of 2026. Private education representatives expressed concern regarding the operational criteria, noting they may file legal appeals if the decree is enacted in its current draft form.