The Government appoints Joan Manuel Espuelas as Director of Education Services

The Government of the Generalitat has appointed Joan Manuel Espuelas Puigdollers as Director of Services of the Department of Education and Vocational Training, a key management position in the administration of the Catalan educational system. The appointment is officialized by Decree 180/2026, of September 22, signed by President Salvador Illa i Roca and Minister Esther Niubó Cidoncha, and published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat of Catalonia (DOGC) no. 9757, of September 23, 2026, with the reference CVE-DOGC-A-26265049-2026.

The regulation is issued under article 26.h of Law 13/2008, of November 5, on the presidency of the Generalitat and the Government, at the proposal of the Minister of Education and Vocational Training and in agreement with the Government. The sole article of the decree appoints Espuelas Puigdollers with “the rights and duties inherent to the position,” and the text is dated in Barcelona on September 22, 2026. The appointment comes at a time of renewal of the Department’s senior management, after Marta Clari Padrós was designated as Secretary General on September 1.

An appointment by Government decree

Decree 180/2026 is a regulatory-rank norm approved by the Government and published in the Appointments and Personnel section of the DOGC. Its processing follows the usual procedure for this type of designation:

• Impulse: at the proposal of the Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Esther Niubó Cidoncha.
• Decision: agreement of the Government, formalized by decree.
• Signature: President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa i Roca, and the Minister of the department.
• Publication: DOGC no. 9757, of September 23, 2026, reference CVE-DOGC-A-26265049-2026.

The Directorate of Services is the management body that assumes the ordinary management of the Department’s resources and services, under the dependency of the Secretary General.

Succession in the Directorate of Services

The same issue of the bulletin includes the piece that completes the movement. Decree 179/2026, of September 22 (CVE-DOGC-A-26265048-2026), signed by the same authorities, declares the cessation of Ignasi Simón Ortoll as Director of Services of the Department of Education and Vocational Training and thanks him for the services rendered. Both decrees share the same date and issuing body, so that the succession occurs simultaneously and without a vacancy in the tenure of the position.

New destinations for the previous holder

The departure of Ignasi Simón Ortoll from the Directorate of Services does not entail his departure from the Department. Resolution EDF/3389/2026, of September 22 (CVE-DOGC-A-26265081-2026), appoints him as advisor in Institutional Relations with the Local World, as temporary staff, with the functions established by the Agreement of the Technical Commission of the Public Service of September 18, 2026:

• Exercise, by delegation, the representation and institutional relationship with municipalist entities and local bodies regarding educational matters.
• Provide support to the presidency of the Joint Commission of the Department and Municipalist Entities and monitor its agreements.
• Promote the Experimental Plan for Educational Governance Zones before local bodies.
• Ensure the coherence of the Department’s dialogue with local bodies.
• Promote framework agreements and multi-year work plans with municipalist entities.

The remuneration for the position is assimilated to those of group A of civil service personnel, destination level 30.2 and a specific supplement of 48,677.76 euros per year, with a special dedication workday. The resolution exhausts the administrative route and opens the door to a contentious-administrative appeal within a period of two months or, optionally, to an appeal for reversal before the counselor within a period of one month.

Furthermore, Resolution EDF/3372/2026, of September 21 (CVE-DOGC-A-26264037-2026), appoints them as vice-president of the Joint Commission of the Department of Education and Municipalist Entities, in accordance with Order EDC/325/2005, of July 11, and article 5.2.b) of Decree 273/2025, of December 23, on the restructuring of the Department of Education and Vocational Training, which assigns the presidency of the body to the General Secretariat.

Background: changes at the top of the Department

The appointments of this September 23 add to other recent movements in the command positions of the Department of Education and Vocational Training. On September 1, Decree 154/2026 appointed Marta Clari Padrós as general secretary of the Department, in a publication of the DOGC no. 9744, of September 3, 2026 (CVE-DOGC-A-26244048-2026). The combination of these designations constitutes a renewal of the Department’s first line of management at the very start of the 2026-2027 school year.

For readers, the relevance of the news is twofold: on one hand, the Department of Education and Vocational Training changes the head of one of the service directorates with the most weight in the daily management of the educational system; on the other, the previous head remains in the organizational chart with a profile focused on relations with city councils and municipalist entities, an area especially sensitive in terms of school planning, educational governance zones, and collaboration agreements with local bodies.

Source: Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya (DOGC), no. 9757, of September 23, 2026, Positions and Personnel section (official reference: CVE-DOGC-A-26265049-2026).