Morant: "We are kicking off the university year with the most students in the history of Spain, a record that shows that the prestige of university studies is continuing to grow"

Group photo of the opening ceremony of the University Year 2024/2025 at the University of Zaragoza, presided over by His Majesty the King

The Minister made these assurances during the opening ceremony of the University Year 2024/2025 at the University of Zaragoza, presided over by H.M. the King and attended by the Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Sport, Pilar Alegría; the Chancellor of the University of Zaragoza, José Antonio Mayoral; and the President of the Conference of Chancellors for Spanish Universities (CRUE), Eva Alcón.

In her speech, Morant explained that "today Spain has a higher percentage of young people between the ages of 25 and 34 with higher education than the European Union average, and this makes us a stronger country that can face the future with hope". "We have the talent that will lead and transform us into a more prosperous, freer and fairer society," she said.

She also highlighted "the effort and courage of our university students, whose performance rate continues to rise". "On average, each year they enrol for 52 credits and pass 41 of them, with an average mark of 7.45," she explained.

The Minister also referred to the disruptive technologies sector and asserted that "we also need the vision, leadership and equal participation of women, who occupy just 22% of jobs in areas like Artificial Intelligence".

"Adding women's talents to actions for designing the future is a national priority on which we are continuing to make progress. More women than ever before are studying at our universities, and they are doing so in the longer term, at higher levels of education. The number of women studying for a master's degree has grown by 41.8% compared to 39.2% for men since the 2017-2018 academic year," she said.

Morant: "This is not an ordinary start to the school year"

During her speech, the Minister also stated that "this is not just any new academic year, as the universities will start to implement the Organic Law for the University System (LOSU), a law approved by Parliament and a mandate from the Spanish people to guarantee the resources and autonomy of our universities, and to provide solutions to their main problems".

"It is unacceptable that 49% of university professors in Spain have a temporary contract, compared to an average of 16% in other sectors, and it is unacceptable that we have turned our universities into an island of precariousness: a problem that is the result of erratic policies and cuts that must be reversed," she said.

In this regard, Morant stressed that "this Government of Spain has launched the Maria Goyri Programme, an unprecedented, fair programme to finance the incorporation of more than 5,500 assistant professors and lecturers to public universities throughout Spain". "This is the largest plan for the incorporation of teaching and research talent ever launched by a government in Spain," she reiterated.

"This is the first time in our democratic era that the Government of Spain has directly financed the universities to pay the salaries of the teaching staff, because this competence belongs to the Regional Governments," added the Minister.

She also explained that, within the framework of this programme, the Government of Spain will finance 94 places in Aragon over the next six years and the Government of Aragon will fund 62 more. "In total, these are 156 positions that will serve to rejuvenate and stabilise the staff for the public university where today we are celebrating the start of the academic year," she announced.

Morant: "We will continue to care for and prioritise public universities throughout the territory"

Morant also congratulated the University of Zaragoza for "its 550 years of history during which you have turned this institution into a quarry for science, innovation, talent and democracy".

Furthermore, she stated that "the Government of Spain will continue to care for and prioritise public universities throughout the country, in every province where there is one, because they are some of the most powerful instruments for achieving greater levels of equal opportunities, progress and well-being for citizens".

Non official translation