The Supreme Court has annulled due to a formal error the decree with which the Spanish government wanted to curb "university shacks," that is, the rule to tighten the criteria for allowing the creation of private centers that did not meet excellence standards. Specifically, the court does not see it as justified that it was processed via an urgent procedure. Shortly after the ruling was made public, the executive announced that it is working to restore the decree "as soon as possible." The rectors of state universities have also spoken out, emphasizing that it is a formal error and not one of substance, and that the quality of the university system must be maintained.

The academic offerings of universities in the State continue to prioritize student preferences over the needs of the labor market, and although higher education has halved the unemployment rate in a decade, this achievement is overshadowed by the increasing precariousness of these graduates, according to the fifteenth edition of the report. The Spanish university in figuresThe report, prepared by the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE), reveals that 17.5% of students work part-time year-round (21% for women), compared to 8.3% in the OECD, reflecting the "persistent precariousness of the Spanish labor market." The report concludes that demand for the Spanish university system will remain stable, at around 1.7 million undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students, over the next twenty years, and lists three clear challenges: increased public funding, a decisive boost to knowledge transfer, and the reversion of teaching and research to the universities themselves. "Having a university education is an excellent investment," says Eva Alcón, president of CRUE and rector of Jaume I University, while acknowledging that there is still "room for improvement."