• Negotiation: Pablo Iglesias seeks to specify his third ministry in the Government after closing Equality and Work

The rectors have asked Pedro Sánchez not to divide the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities to give a position to United We can facilitate the investiture. They warn that "breaking" the current department can have very negative consequences for the education system and for the development of the country. They demand that the current structure be maintained because "the opposite would imply a strategic setback in the shared objective of advancing our citizens towards a better world." "We are convinced that this is not the desire of the future Government of Spain," warn in a statement signed by the representatives of 76 Spanish universities, 50 public and 26 private.

The Conference of Rectors (Crue) , the association that represents the main Spanish public campuses, does not usually get into politics. On the contrary, it avoids any issue that may be controversial and slips away from these matters with exquisite diplomacy. That is why his statement is the expression of his intense concern, and also of his discomfort, given the possibility that his area will be used as a currency in the negotiations between PSOE and United We can reach a coalition government.

His words are almost a warning to Sánchez: if he gives Universities to Pablo Iglesias' team and clears him of Science, they will have them against him. If this idea continues, both parties would be missing their promises because, remember, "in their respective electoral programs, both PSOE and United We can affirm that they would maintain and even strengthen the current ministerial structure to ensure the integration of the entire Knowledge system. and innovation 'and' so that the promotion of scientific activity by public authorities is more effective '".

"The new challenges of globalization demand that the University, Science and Innovation be part of the same Ministry," the statement said. "If we want Spain to walk towards the Knowledge Economy, as the more developed countries are doing, we need an interlocutor dedicated exclusively to these areas to ensure optimal coordination with other departments in order to develop any regulations that affect the University System Spanish".

The consequences of the division

"Attending to the criteria of the country's needs is above the political criteria", the sources consulted emphasize, remembering that it is better for Science and Universities to remain united because "about 70% of the scientific research carried out in Spain has place in a university environment. "

The fragmentation, in fact, is threefold, because Education has already been split from Universities, unlike what has happened in other legislatures. What practical consequences would now have to do more divisions? The rectors argue that "the communication and coordination that the Spanish University System now needs to improve issues that can no longer wait can be improved." For example, they need "a single interlocutor" to "reach a sensible solution in a reasonable time" in matters such as the Statute of Research Personnel in Training , the law of Public Sector Contracts or the royal decree law of External Academic Practices . There are three issues that concern universities and that, "despite their good background philosophy, they require surgical development and application so as not to harm the university community."

The rectors drop that "if we continue to maintain the Spanish University System among the 10 with the highest scientific production and among the 10 most equitable in the world" it is necessary that a single ministry be maintained. "Without Science there is no University and without University there is no Science," they emphasize.

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