The Supreme Court annuls Sánchez's decree to curb "university beach bars"

BarcelonaThe 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 magistrates of the contentious-administrative chamber have ruled following an appeal by the government of the Balearic Islands. Since the decision is based on a formal error, the judges did not enter into a debate on the content of the decree. The one from the Balearic Islands was not the only appeal against the university decree: the Community of Madrid had also opposed it, considering it an "arbitrary" rule and arguing that it violated regional competencies in educational matters; a point that the Supreme Court did not get to evaluate.

The Supreme Court's ruling is limited to the form in which the decree was processed, and considers that there was no justification for it to be done urgently, which implies that the public consultation process was omitted. The judges conclude that the Council of Ministers did not sufficiently justify this decision, and argue "more of a political will for its rapid entry into force than an objective cause that proves an urgency" to avoid the effect of the current law.

"It does not change our conviction about the need to have a regulation that organizes the growth of the university system and guarantees its quality," valued sources from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. In this sense, they added that they are working on a rule that is "within the framework established by the judicial resolution".

Rectors ask to maintain quality

For its part, the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE) has remarked that academic quality requires the authorization, verification, and monitoring of degrees, all under demanding criteria and transparent objectives supervised by evaluation and accreditation bodies. "The creation and development of new universities and new degrees must be linked to solid academic planning, the availability of qualified faculty, verifiable research activity, adequate material resources, and an effective contribution to the formative and scientific needs of society," they state in a statement.

Among other measures, the decree established that communities wishing to authorize the creation of a university would have to count from the beginning of the process with a favorable quality report from ANECA (the state quality agency, which depends on the Spanish government) or from equivalent regional agencies, such as AQU Catalunya. It also required at least 4,500 students and regulated the verification of new degrees within an already created university, as well as the need to have a number of doctoral professors and the accreditation of foreign centers based in Spain.