Zaragoza, June 3, 2025. The university faculties that offer Geology degrees in Spain have issued a joint statement expressing their “deep concern” about the decline of scientific subjects —especially Geology— in secondary education, in the context of the curricular reforms introduced by the Organic Law for the Modification of the Education Law (LOMLOE).
At the University of Zaragoza, the statement was endorsed and disseminated by the Faculty of Sciences through its dean, Professor Blanca Bauluz Lázaro, Chair of Crystallography and Mineralogy, joining numerous faculties across the country committed to defending rigorous scientific education.
The ten signatory faculties emphasize that Geology holds the same academic standing as other experimental sciences such as Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Nevertheless, they denounce that this discipline has been “almost entirely eliminated” from the new curricula, as a result of the educational system’s shift towards competence-based pedagogies. According to the statement, this trend has significantly reduced the presence of scientific specialties overall, which is already reflected in declining student performance in international assessments such as PISA and TIMSS.
In Compulsory Secondary Education, Geology is only taught for one or two terms —depending on the autonomous community— and only if the designated teacher has specific training in Geology and chooses to cover the subject in the classroom. In practice, the Geology component of the Biology and Geology course is often omitted or significantly reduced. As a result, most students complete secondary education without any basic geological training.
The situation worsens in Baccalaureate studies and University Entrance Exams (PAU), where Geology —and, in many regions, Environmental Sciences as well— receive very low or even null weighting. The faculties argue that this constitutes a comparative disadvantage that discourages students from choosing these subjects.
The implications, they insist, go beyond academia. The lack of basic geological education among citizens and decision-makers has a direct impact on territorial management and natural hazard prevention. “Disasters such as the DANA in Valencia, the Tajogaite volcano eruption in La Palma, or the collapse of the Carmel district in Barcelona could have had lesser consequences if proper geological prevention plans had been in place,” the statement affirms. Investment in geological culture, they argue, can help save lives, protect property, and reduce public spending in emergencies.
The statement also highlights the paradox of this situation in a global context defined by environmental challenges such as climate change, drought, and geotechnical risks. Despite the increasing demand for specialized scientific knowledge, there is a noticeable decline in geological training among students and professionals in both public and private sectors.
Various scientific organizations —such as the Spanish Association for the Teaching of Earth Sciences (AEPECT), the Geological Society of Spain (SGE), the Spanish Society of Mineralogy (SEM), and the International Society of Geology and Mining for Development and Land Management (SIGMADOT)— have repeatedly raised this issue, yet the Ministry of Education has not provided a concrete response to date.
Academics warn that this educational policy risks repeating past mistakes, such as the proliferation of elective subjects at the expense of core disciplines during the 1990s, which led to a widespread loss of fundamental knowledge among students. “Geological culture is not a luxury but a necessity. Its exclusion from the curriculum undermines our collective ability to understand and manage our territory,” they stress.
The signatory faculties insist that scientific education —and Geology in particular— must play a central role in curricular planning, as a key discipline for understanding the natural environment, managing land use, and preventing risks. They advocate for its preservation in the curriculum as a guarantee of an educated, critical, and well-prepared citizenry capable of meeting 21st-century challenges. As they warn: “If we do not promote geological culture, we will end up validating flat-earth theories and mistaking a dinosaur for a medieval excavation. Something that, by the way, is already happening.”