Spanish underfinancing context and the law draft on Higher Education, Universities and Science of the Community of Madrid

Ensuring adequate and fair funding for public universities is essential to guarantee a quality, equitable, and accessible higher education system for all students. Public universities play a central role not only in academic and professional training, but also in research, knowledge generation, and innovation; key pillars for Europe’s social progress and motor.

However, Spain is currently facing a persistent scenario of underfunding that compromises the sustainability and development of its HEIs. At this moment, Spain allocates approximately 0.7%-0.8% of its GDP to higher education. This level remains insufficient to meet the growing needs of universities and places Spain significantly below European standards, where many countries surpass the 1% benchmark for public university funding. To reach minimum quality standards and services to ensure a stable higher education in Spain, CREUP aims to reach the investment of 2% of its GDP to fund the public HEIs.

The concerns regarding the need of these resources have increased are not new, as universities struggle to maintain essential infrastructure, support research, and ensure stable and quality academic conditions. This financial pressure weakens Spain’s overall capacity to maintain its infrastructures, quality of education, teachers and personnel. 

This national context reflects its structural challenge, internal founding tensions and fragilities. The current level of public funding does not allow Spanish universities to fully meet the expectations and responsibilities placed upon them within the EHEA.

In this context, Madrid is home to several of Spain’s most prestigious universities, forming one of the largest academic hubs in the country. Despite this strategic importance, Madrid exemplifies the consequences of chronic underfunding within the Spanish system since the draft of the Preliminary Bill on Higher Education, Universities and Science (LESUC) of the Community of Madrid is presented under the justification of developing basic state legislation, primarily Organic Law 2/2023, of March 22, on the University System (LOSU), and adapting the university model to regional priorities. However, a detailed analysis of the articles reveals that the law considerably oversteps its bounds, going far beyond the permitted legal development and constituting a direct and blatant violation of constitutional principles (art. 27.10 of the Spanish Constitution) and basic state legislation in fundamental aspects such as funding, university autonomy, the disciplinary regime, and the use of public resources.

This region grants public universities the capacity for self-governance, the free use of their resources, and the power to define their personnel, research, and teaching policies without undue political interference. The LESUC, in numerous provisions, oversteps its authority by intervening in areas that are the exclusive domain of the institutions, such as the management of internships (creating external oversight bodies), the establishment of the financial structure (imposing dependence on private funding), and the imposition of a political-administrative sanctions regime that restricts freedom of expression and protest on campuses specially those coming from students.

According to the data provided in the report of the CRUE, Madrid allocates 0.76% of its regional GDP to its universities. More significantly, it is the region with the lowest investment per student, with an average of 5.434 euros per enrolled student (2021/2022 academic year) This amount falls well below the national average of 7.014 euros.

The LESUC introduces a funding model for public universities that, instead of guaranteeing sufficient budgets through stable public funds, undermines the essential nature of higher education by linking its financial sustainability to the ability to attract external and private resources. This system creates a structural dependence on the market, which compromises academic independence, freedom of research, and the university’s social mission.

By encouraging the raising of private resources, LESUC opens the door to the active participation of investment funds, venture capital, and other speculative entities in the financing and management of university projects, which is deeply incompatible with a public institution and the values that ESU stands for in public HEIs.

It also implements a system of results-based financing that introduces a business and political logic that is undermines in the academic field since results-based funding tends to prioritize quantitative indicators (number of journal publications, volume of contracts with companies, number of patents) over qualitative ones (quality of classroom teaching, social impact of research, promotion of critical thinking, success rates, and social performance). Furthermore, these objectives require universities to subordinate themselves to the wishes of political administration or business interests, rather than to the genuine academic interests and those of the university community.

The LESUC proposes the modification of the composition of university bodies and coordination mechanisms, including the participation of external members. This potential interference translates into an imbalance in the representation of the university community (teachers, students, and staff) in favor of political, business, or administrative interests. Autonomy implies that the University decides how it governs itself; any law that introduces mechanisms allowing political or administrative control by external, non-academic bodies over strategic decision-making (such as investment, the academic plan, or priority research) undermines the institution’s independence. This political control limits the capacity of the university council and other governing bodies to make decisions based solely on academic criteria.

Similarly, there is no student participation in the delegated committees of the council proposed by the LESUC, specifically, the University Coordination Committee of the Community of Madrid and the Single District of Internships Committee as well as limiting it’s students representation sphere under minimums that would go against even the actual student representation system. 

This situation is concerning to the totality of the national academic community since it can not set as an example for other autonomies to follow. Due to the reasons exposed, ESU and CREUP stands by the Madrid students community and all the students in Spain affected by the underfinancing situation and asks for: 

• Withdrawal of the Draft Bill, as it entails an overreach of the regional government’s powers and a violation of university autonomy.

• University funding; sufficient public funding at a national level to reach the 2% investment of the GDP as well as in the Community of Madrid is required to assume its constitutional responsibility to guarantee adequate funding for public universities, reversing the logic of dependency and commodification. To this end, it must provide sufficient public funding, at least the 1% required by the Organic Law on Universities (LOSU), covering 100% of university expenses, in addition to a specific budget allocation separate from the earmarked funds allocated to modernizing university infrastructure, which has deteriorated for years due to underfunding.

• The reaffirmation of the principle of autonomy is demanded, guaranteeing the full capacity for self-governance of public institutions. Management autonomy must be complete and respect the statutes of each institution, without the imposition of rigid administrative or political criteria by the Community of Madrid. We ask for the protection of academic freedom for faculty and freedom of expression and assembly for the entire university community, ensuring that the campus remains a forum for critical debate without fear of administrative repression. Conflicts must be resolved through dialogue and internal disciplinary mechanisms.

• It is required that adequate representation of students from Madrid’s public universities be guaranteed in the coordination bodies and their delegated committees to ensure a democratic and equitable students representation system in the whole spanish territory.