Single-parent families will be able to access university for free or with a 50% reduction

BarcelonaSingle-parent families with one child in their care will have a 50% reduction in public university fees from the next academic year. Families with a single adult and two or more children, or with a disability or work incapacity, will be able to access public university free of charge. The Government will approve this coming Tuesday, at the executive council, the decree setting university fees, which will already incorporate the new measure, a "historic" demand from this group that equates these family models to large families – who already benefited from these discounts –, according to the Department of Research and Universities.

The initiative will benefit students at Catalan public universities and also those who enroll at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and are part of a single-parent family. To achieve this, Salvador Illa's executive has planned an additional budget of 12.5 million euros.

The new regulation defines two categories of single-parent families: general and special. The general category includes family models with a single adult and one child in their care, up to 21 years of age (or 25 if they are studying and financially dependent on the parent). These families will receive a 50% discount on university credits. Cases considered special include families with a single parent and two or more children in their care, as well as those in which the father, mother, or any of the offspring has a recognized disability or work incapacity. In these special cases, students will be entitled to full exemption.

A benefit for almost 80,000 families

Currently, in Catalonia, there are 78,550 single-parent family titles in force. Thus, the Government highlights that the measure represents a new step in the equalization of rights between these family models and large families, of which there are currently 164,444 registered cases. The initiative is part of the policies to support new family and social realities. A scenario in which, according to the executive, single-parent families are on the rise. The Department of Research and Universities also emphasizes that this exemption from university fees is in addition to the policy of reducing and containing the costs of higher education promoted in recent years. The decree consolidates a single price of 17.69 euros per credit for all undergraduate studies and qualifying master's degrees, the lowest to date.

In addition, non-qualifying master's degrees will experience an additional 30% reduction and will cost 19.37 euros per credit. The text also maintains the Equitat scholarship system for the lowest income brackets and retains full or partial exemptions for other groups, such as large families, people with disabilities, victims of gender-based violence, or beneficiaries of the minimum vital income.