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They marched through the centre of the Spanish capital wearing green T-shirts bearing the slogan which have become a symbol of the protest. Many blew whistles and beat drums.
"At a time when Spain needs to improve its competitiveness, I think it is a mistake to be cutting spending on teaching," said 38-year-old Spanish literature teacher Carmen Abellan.
"What is at stake is the future of our country," Abellan said, reacting against a Madrid regional government demand that teachers spend an extra two hours a week in the classroom so as to reduce spending on supply staff.
"The government is pushing the idea that we should work two more hours but the problem is that there are fewer teachers, we are talking about 3,000 fewer teachers, " she said.
Pressed by the ruling Socialist central government to shore up its balance sheet, the Madrid regional government, run by the conservative Popular Party, has asked teachers to increase in-class teaching time by two hours to 20 hours out of their total 38.5-hour working week.
Unions argue they will lead to fewer teacher hires and poorer quality education as teachers will have less time to prepare classes and will be assigned to teach subjects they know nothing about.
They have called for three more days of strikes in October.
Ahead of November 20 general elections, the cuts are providing a major political battlefield with Socialist Party officials coming out strongly against them.
"Teachers are being made to teach subjects that they are not qualified to teach," said 55-year-old math teacher Maria Jose, who wore a sign on her chest that said her school would have eight fewer teachers this year due to the cuts.
Many parents and school pupils joined the protest.
Elroy Romero, 48-year-old parent of two children at school, was wearing a shirt emblazoned with the word "father".
"I am very worried about what is happening to teaching in Spain. I have two children and I don't want quality education to be reserved only for private schools," he said.
"Education is an investment, not an expense," and "Quality public education for our children," were some of the signs on display at the march.
The red ink running through the accounts of Spain's regional governments is a major concern for the markets, which fear it could compromise the central government's targets for cutting the annual public deficit.
The budget deficit for the 17 regions, which are responsible for education and health care, amounted to 1.2 percent of gross domestic product during the first half of the year -- nearly reaching the full-year target of 1.3 percent.
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"At a time when Spain needs to improve its competitiveness, I think it is a mistake to be cutting spending on teaching," said 38-year-old Spanish literature teacher Carmen Abellan.
"What is at stake is the future of our country," Abellan said, reacting against a Madrid regional government demand that teachers spend an extra two hours a week in the classroom so as to reduce spending on supply staff.
"The government is pushing the idea that we should work two more hours but the problem is that there are fewer teachers, we are talking about 3,000 fewer teachers, " she said.
Pressed by the ruling Socialist central government to shore up its balance sheet, the Madrid regional government, run by the conservative Popular Party, has asked teachers to increase in-class teaching time by two hours to 20 hours out of their total 38.5-hour working week.
Unions argue they will lead to fewer teacher hires and poorer quality education as teachers will have less time to prepare classes and will be assigned to teach subjects they know nothing about.
They have called for three more days of strikes in October.
Ahead of November 20 general elections, the cuts are providing a major political battlefield with Socialist Party officials coming out strongly against them.
"Teachers are being made to teach subjects that they are not qualified to teach," said 55-year-old math teacher Maria Jose, who wore a sign on her chest that said her school would have eight fewer teachers this year due to the cuts.
Many parents and school pupils joined the protest.
Elroy Romero, 48-year-old parent of two children at school, was wearing a shirt emblazoned with the word "father".
"I am very worried about what is happening to teaching in Spain. I have two children and I don't want quality education to be reserved only for private schools," he said.
"Education is an investment, not an expense," and "Quality public education for our children," were some of the signs on display at the march.
The red ink running through the accounts of Spain's regional governments is a major concern for the markets, which fear it could compromise the central government's targets for cutting the annual public deficit.
The budget deficit for the 17 regions, which are responsible for education and health care, amounted to 1.2 percent of gross domestic product during the first half of the year -- nearly reaching the full-year target of 1.3 percent.
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