Madrid Community Criticized for Rejecting Key University Professor Program
The Community of Madrid is the only autonomous region in Spain yet to sign the María Goyri Program, aimed at establishing new assistant professor positions in public universities. The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities has confirmed that agreements have already been made with the other sixteen autonomous communities to initiate the María Goyri Program, which will create a total of 4,480 assistant professor positions across these territories, with 2,705 of those funded by the Spanish Government and the remaining 1,775 by the respective autonomous communities.
Reports indicate that the regional governments of Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, the Valencia Community, Extremadura, Galicia, the Balearic Islands, La Rioja, Navarra, and the Region of Murcia have all signed on to implement this program. It aims to enrich public universities with teaching and research talent.
In a recent letter, the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant, addressed Madrid's President, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, sharply criticizing her for effectively turning down the signing of the María Goyri Program. Morant argues that this refusal is particularly detrimental at a time when public universities are in dire need of new talent to address issues of precarious employment and over-reliance on temporary staff—a situation particularly acute in Madrid, where 4,763 staff members fall into this category.
Morant stated, "This is precisely when public universities need it most to tackle the challenge of combating precariousness and excessive temporality in their teaching staff." She expressed concern that Ayuso's decision poses a serious threat to Madrid's public universities, depriving them of more than 1,000 young and well-trained professors. The disparity in agreement with all other autonomous communities heightens the surprise of Madrid's stance.
The minister urged Ayuso to reconsider her position, emphasizing the importance of collaboration in defending public universities. By opting out of the program, Morant highlighted that Madrid is obstructing the Spanish Government's investment of over 169 million euros in the region across the next six years. She pointed out that funding transfers from Ayuso's government for public universities have grown only 5% over fifteen years, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has ballooned by 349% during the same period.
Morant also critiqued the per-student funding in Madrid, noting it is 21% lower than the overall average for all Spanish public universities and less than half the average amount for public universities in the European Union. Despite the challenges, Madrid's universities strive to maintain their commitment to quality teaching and research under significant strain
The Minister reinforced the government's commitment to rejuvenating university staff and eliminating precarious employment. "We are working with autonomous communities and public universities to definitively end the unacceptable situation of precariousness in our universities, an issue exacerbated by recent years of cuts," she stated.
The goal of the María Goyri Program is to finance over 5,600 assistant professor positions nationwide, with the government pledging to finance 3,400 of these positions for a six-year duration, resulting in a total expenditure exceeding 900 million euros. Additionally, the program will mobilize another 2,236 positions funded by the autonomous communities, which hold jurisdiction in this area.
Morant reiterated that this initiative marks the first instance where the Spanish Government directly finances the salaries of university professors and researchers, a responsibility previously devolved to the autonomous communities.
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