Ayuso files an appeal against Sánchez's decree to stop university cronyism

The Community of Madrid intervenes in the decree with which the Spanish government wants to limit the creation of university crony barsSpecifically, Isabel Díaz Ayuso's government has filed an administrative appeal with the Supreme Court against the royal decree on universities, arguing that the legislation is "arbitrary," was drafted "without consensus," and infringes upon regional powers in educational matters. The regulation that Ayuso wants to halt was approved by the Council of Ministers in October with the aim of tightening the criteria for the creation, recognition, and authorization of new universities, in response to the surge in new private universities in recent years.Spain is just four universities away from having as many public as private universities.The Madrid regional government council is scheduled to receive a report this Wednesday on the legal actions taken by the regional Attorney General's Office against this regulation, which, according to the Ayuso administration, "unjustifiably limits the freedom of enterprise and the creation of educational centers recognized in the Spanish Constitution." They assert that tightening the criteria for the creation, recognition, and authorization of universities would undermine legal certainty and exceed the scope of the corresponding state legislation, leaving "very little room" for the autonomous communities to regulate on their own. Excellence controls

For the Madrid government, the national regulations would impose "arbitrary" requirements, such as demanding that new university centers have at least 4,500 students, a measure that the regional executive considers "in no way aligned with the purported interest in increasing the quality of Spanish universities." Furthermore, according to the Ayuso administration, the project was processed "opaquely, without prior public consultation and without involving the autonomous communities." The Madrid government also asserts that the procedure for establishing new universities and university centers in the Community of Madrid already includes "very rigorous controls that guarantee the excellence of the approved projects." It also believes that the new law on higher education, universities, and science, currently being drafted by the Ministry of Education, will incorporate improvements to these procedures, always within the framework of regional powers.