Spain, in four universities, has as many private as public ones

BarcelonaIn the last 25 years, the number of private universities in Spain has tripled. In fact, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, published this Tuesday, there are currently a total of 96 universities in Spain, of which almost half (46) are already private, compared to 50 public. In addition, there are up to nine private centers waiting to receive approval to open their doors. Thus, although at this time only four centers have as many public as private universities, taking into account the number of institutions waiting to receive the green light, it would not be surprising if there were soon as many—or more—private universities in the State than public ones.

Now, the emergency royal decree approved this Tuesday by the Council of Ministers of the Spanish government to try to ensure that behind this skyrocketing increase in private universities do not hide the opening of "university bars", could reverse or at least mitigate this trend.

Although the Government spokesperson and Minister of Education, Pilar Alegría, has assured that the new decree "is not about public versus private universities", but rather about "good and bad universities", in response to criticism from the PP, she assured that the reality is that, taking into account that until now they had been opening without a desirable level of quality, it is most likely that the new regulation will turn off the tap in terms of the expansion of private centers throughout the country.

And even more so if one takes into account that in the last seven years the General Conference on University Policy has issued up to 21 reports on the creation of new universities. Of these, all of them were private and half (11) received unfavorable reports regarding their project proposal. However, five of these eleven have managed to open thanks to being authorized by the autonomous law of the community to which they belong: two institutions are in Andalusia (UTAMED and Universidad Fernando III), another two in the Canary Islands (Universities of the Hesperides and Technological University of the Canary Islands) and one of them in Madrid (Private University of Madrid-UDIT):

What does the decree approved today say?

The decree approved this Tuesday by the Council of Ministers, which is expected to become a reality between May and June, could already affect the nine universities that are awaiting the green light to open. Broadly speaking, the regulation expands the requirements that all universities, both public and private, must meet. Furthermore, many of the new requirements will also affect online universities, as well as institutions that had already received the green light and are already offering classes.

And in Catalonia, what?

Although Sánchez's announcement could have a significant impact on the state university system, it is unlikely that Catalonia will directly feel the effects of the regulation, which will be approved in a couple of months. In this regard, it should be noted that Catalonia is one of the most stable university systems in the country. No new university, public or private, has been created for more than fifteen years. Furthermore, Catalonia is nine private universities away from reaching the extreme of Madrid, which, with thirteen private institutions and six public ones, is by far the region with the most notable imbalance between public and private institutions.

The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) could be affected by the new regulation, due to its status as an institution that offers all its teaching via distance learning. However, in statements to ARA, the rector, Àngels Fitó, assures that the new decree "does not cause them any suffering": "The UOC was founded thirty years ago and has a social impact and quality that is more than guaranteed and proven. In addition, we have the complicity of the Catalan government and the State as well, in order to have that."

Beyond the direct impact it may have on the UOC, Fitó, who is also president of the OpenEU alliance formed by ten European online universities, considers the decree to tighten university standards to be very good news. "It puts an end to an anomaly in the Spanish university system: that university initiatives are allowed to move forward that are not endorsed by quality agencies or that directly receive unfavorable reports for their projects." Fitó also points out that this "anomaly" does not occur in other European countries "where there are also public and private universities, but they all require this certification to operate."

Beyond the university sphere itself, the measures announced this Tuesday have sparked a new political confrontation, with the PP criticizing the new regulations, in their opinion, as seeking to launch a campaign against private universities "for ideological reasons and with divisive aims."