MADRID, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Philosophy will return to the Spanish school curriculum as an compulsory subject for students between 16 to 18 years old, the Spanish Ministry of Education have confirmed in a press communique.
The measure is one of a packet of changes that the Pedro Sanchez administration plans to carry out with its forthcoming reform of the education system.
The move means the subject returns to schools following a five-year break after it was eliminated from the curriculum by the Conservative People's Party government of Mariano Rajoy in 2013 in a decision questioned by politicians, teachers and students.
Spanish Education Minister Isabel Celaa has decided to bring back the subject with the support of all parties currently sitting in the Spanish Congress, and the decision is set to receive the official approval of the House in a few months.
"Philosophy helps students to think and to reflect and to create a critical conscience and to install them consciously in time and space," Celaa said.
"This government believes that the study of the history of philosophy helps to orientate us in the study of science and other questions and should be compulsory for all students. We believe that by doing this, we are helping students to create a world full of information in a hyper-connected society and to develop a critical way of thinking which will help them distinguish what is important and what isn't in the world we live in today," the Minister commented.
