Education Manuel Castells regulates that universities can open themselves to teaching mini-training courses for the unemployed
Women will have priority over men when working in Spanish public universities.
The draft of the new
Organic Law of the University System (LOSU)
allows campuses that, when there are two candidates in "equal conditions of suitability", they have "preference" to be hired "people of the less represented sex" in the body teacher or category in question.
This appears in the draft, advanced by
ABC
and that this Tuesday has received a first reading in the
Council of Ministers
.
The holder of Universities, Manuel Castells, has expressed that the norm seeks to improve "equity" between men and women.
The rectors, however, do not like this idea.
"The principles of equality, merit and ability are the only ones that can be constitutionally applied in public service," argue sources from universities.
Furthermore, the concept of "equal eligibility conditions" is ambiguous enough to allow it to be interpreted openly and to choose not the best-prepared candidate, but the one most suitable for the position.
As university sources maintain, "there is never a level playing field, there is always one better candidate than another."
The text contemplates positive discrimination in competitions for access to positions for civil servant teaching and research personnel and hired to "favor access to women." More than half of the graduates are women, but there are barely a dozen female rectors leading the fifty public universities. Castells seeks to reduce gender differences especially in scientific careers and establish reservations and preferences in the conditions of hiring, according to the draft, which is open to debate by the university community.
The draft also seeks to "promote" scientific projects with a gender perspective, which means that this type of research will be favored over others. Other objectives are to achieve "parity in the research teams", in the collegiate bodies and in all the selection and evaluation commissions, and the "increase of women as principal investigators". The campuses, in order to function and be recognized, must have a university policy gender equality plan and a human resources gender equality plan, as well as a "protocol against sexual and sex-based harassment" and a remuneration record of all personnel.
In addition, it reinforces the role of the equality and diversity units, which already operate in a large number of universities.
The former, whose operating regime will be governed by the campus statutes, will be "in charge of coordinating and mainstreaming the development of university policies for equality between women and men, as well as the inclusion of the gender perspective in all of the activities and functions of the university ".
The second, to defend the interests of minorities and the LGTBI community, "will be in charge of coordinating and mainstreaming the development of anti-discrimination university policies in all activities and functions of the university."
These are other novelties that the new regulation brings, which modifies the LOU of 2001 and is the third university law of democracy.
NON-CATHEDRATIC RECTORS
Castells is going to change the system of electing rectors.
They will no longer have to be professors, as was required until now, and, in addition to universal suffrage, they may be appointed by a "specific" body.
This committee will be made up of teachers, students, administration and services personnel and 30% of people outside the campus of recognized local, national or international academic, cultural, social, business or institutional.
This measure was already raised in 2013 by the experts who advised the PP minister, José Ignacio Wert, and was demanded by a large part of the university community.
It does not generate so many adhesions that the tenured professors can present themselves to rectors.
Until now it had always been only the professors and in the university community this change, made at the proposal of the PSOE, is interpreted as a way of opening the door to place people on the rope.
What will now be requested is to be civil servants of the university teaching bodies with a minimum of three six-year research periods, three five-year periods of teaching and four years of university management experience in some university position.
According to university sources, these conditions can be fulfilled by professors, but also by tenured professors.
"We changed a definition by ranks to a definition by merits," Castells said.
FINANCING BY RESULTS
The law responds to a repeated demand from the sector, considering more financing by objectives and by unique needs, in addition to the structural one. There will be a fixed one that allows covering "the multi-year needs of personnel expenses, current expenses in goods and services and real investments, including investments to guarantee the environmental sustainability of universities", but additional contributions are also contemplated "depending on the fulfillment of strategic objectives that have been set in the multi-year program to be drawn up by the university ". This part is also similar to the one posed by the Wert experts.
What is financing for unique needs?
That which those campuses will receive, for example in the Canary Islands or in depopulated Spain, due to "insularity, territorial dispersion and presence in rural areas of their university centers", as well as the level of specialization of the degrees taught or "the linguistic plurality of the programs".
VET AT UNIVERSITY
Castells explained that "walkways with VET studies" will be established on the campuses so that there is "more connection with employment".
The LOSU gives more transfer of knowledge by establishing that all universities dedicate at least 5% of their budget to research, which will be a headache for those universities that are exclusively dedicated to teaching, where the private ones are framed .
"For me there is no university without research," stressed the minister.
A reserve of 15% of the permanent places for researchers will be ensured.
DEMOCRATIC MEMORY
The text says that the campuses should promote "in all academic areas training, teaching and research in the field of democratic memory as an essential form of education for the new generations."
WINKS TO STUDENTS
"Students are the university's reason for being," proclaimed Castells, who tends to position himself in favor of students and who will save a place for them on the Council of Universities.
Before, this body was made up of the rectors and five members appointed by the President of the Council, but now one of its members will have to be a representative of the students.
The participation of students in government bodies and departments is also increasing and a "precise" catalog of rights and duties of university students is contemplated.
The LOSU recognizes the right to access scholarships and a maximum limit of public tuition fees.
WHO ISSUING THE TITLES?
'ABC' published that in the draft the King was eliminated from the issuance of university degrees.
Ministry sources say that Felipe VI will continue to issue the titles.
"Although the LOSU does not expressly mention it, it is a matter of normative hierarchy. In the LOSU it is specified who is responsible (in this case, the rectors and rectors). The decree of issuance of titles, which in any case it would remain in force, it is the one that expands and details how that expedition is carried out and in that decree it is specified that he is the rector or rector on behalf of the King ", they point out.
JOB STABILITY
The Government will reserve 15% of the new places to legalize associate doctors with a minimum prior contractual relationship of five years.
It also wants to reduce the temporary nature of hiring university teaching and research staff, from 40% in the LOU to 20%.
Third, the law contemplates an increase in stabilization, from 51% to 55% the minimum percentage of civil servant teaching staff that public universities must have.
This percentage worried the unions, who are suspicious of the creation of a new labor figure, parallel to the civil service, for incumbents and professors.
With 55% it is guaranteed that there is a higher percentage of employees than hired.
INTERNATIONALIZATION
The limited internationalization of Spanish universities is one of the great pending subjects.
The law will try to promote interuniversity alliances for the development of degrees and joint programs with foreign universities and international co-tutelage doctorates.
And it contemplates a new figure of "distinguished" professors to attract talent from outside, although it is not clear that they can be paid more.
In line with the Anglo-Saxon model, interdisciplinary degrees, dual mentions (careers with internships in companies), university degrees and open pathways are allowed for students to create on-demand careers.
New areas of knowledge are also defined.
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