The Government of the Community of Madrid will allocate 43,497,750 euros next year to finance that more than 15,000 students study with a public scholarship in pure private centers for the baccalaureate stage, which is not compulsory.
That decision is so controversial that it even contradicts the position that the Executive of Isabel Díaz Ayuso had maintained until now on the matter.
In 2020, when EL PAÍS announced that the regional administration was paying for places of this type taking advantage of a program announced exclusively for ESO-subsidized centers, the Government blamed the situation on the previous Executive (of Ángel Garrido) and advanced that it would act so that it would not return to happen.
Two years later, the opposite has happened: public money will be multiplied to pay for high school studies in all private centers,
whether or not they had arranged compulsory educational stages.
Just what Vox demanded, the only possible parliamentary partner of the PP.
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"[The freedom to choose a center, which the regional government defends] could be limited if students cannot complete their post-compulsory studies in the center where they have been doing compulsory education, due to socioeconomic reasons," argues the Minister of Education, Enrique Ossorio, in an order published this Monday in the official gazette of the region.
And it concludes: “For the 2022-2023 academic year, the possibility of requesting scholarships for high school study is extended to all students enrolled in private centers authorized by the Ministry responsible for education, located in the territory of the Community of Madrid ”.
Thus, the Community of Madrid will establish a per capita family income limit (the figure resulting from dividing the total income of a family by the number of its members) to qualify for the scholarship.
In the case of the system until now in force for the private ones with concerted compulsory educational stages, that figure was 10,000 euros.
Now the hand opens more: all families with a per capita income of less than 35,913 euros will be able to benefit.
Why has the system ended up benefiting pure private centers, when it was announced in 2018 only for private ones with concerted stages?
The legal services of the Community warned even then that the distinction established by the program implemented in 2019 by the Garrido government could be a problem.
And the association of private and independent schools Cicae (Circle of Educational Quality) presented allegations, denouncing that the project aggrieved the pure private ones by benefiting only the concerted private ones.
This caused a change so that, momentarily, public money reached all centers of this type, without distinction.
The consequent controversy broke out in the middle of the coalition government of PP and Ciudadanos, the last legislature, and already with Díaz Ayuso as president, since the government agreement that united the two parties specified: "We will promote the progressive extension of the Early Childhood Education Check (from 0 to 3 years) and the beginning of the educational agreement in Baccalaureate in a progressive manner in the centers already arranged”.
To end the controversy, the Executive assured that it would work so that the program promoted by Garrido would be reformed, and would be "restricted only to concerted, excluding pure private".
And so it was done: the scholarships, from an order of 2021, were only for centers that had arranged ESO.
Two years later, however, the tap of public money has been opened again to pure private money.
And the change is total: it goes from a budget of nine million for some 3,000 students to study high school, to another of 43 million for 15,000 students.
The importance of this figure is understood by comparison: in the 2021-2022 academic year there were 2,860 scholarship holders in high school, 7,669 in Higher Vocational Training, and 29,002 in nurseries, according to documentation sent by the Government to the regional Parliament.
Contacted by this newspaper, the unions have expressed their surprise and discomfort at the measure.
The private schools represented by Cicae have celebrated it, considering it "a success".
For its part, Vox has expressed its discomfort that the PP has unilaterally promoted the measure just when the extreme right was going to defend it in the Assembly.
#HiloEducacion
On February 3, @vox_es registered a Proposal Not of Law in the Assembly so that in Madrid all High School students could have a scholarship to study in a private center since the PP only gave that opportunity to students from concerted centers .
pic.twitter.com/mju5r6EwU1
– Jaime de Berenguer (@jaimeberenguer) April 18, 2022
"For UGT it is a deception to disguise as aid to families what is clearly financing for private centers", they lament in this union organization, which "denounces the privatization policy of the Ministry, which continues to increase financing to private centers , as well as the difference in treatment with respect to the public network, in which the decrease in the offer of modalities and electives continues, which forces a significant part of the student body to leave their reference center and request a change of institute.
And he adds: "Education continues its policy of diverting public money to private centers."
"Now they finance 15,130 students, who are going to charge, on average, 2,875 euros," summarizes the Workers' Commissions.
"That amount does not guarantee free studies, it is only an aid on account, so the families of these students will continue to have to face payments for their children to study," recalls the union.
“With those 43 million, 2,900 places could be built in institutes, that is, about five Institutes with 600 places each”, he exemplifies.
"It is a much higher amount than that allocated in the 2022 Budget for investments, new construction or replacement, in Secondary Education."
In addition, during the next academic year 2022-2023, the Government of the Community of Madrid will launch aid for Intermediate Vocational Training studies: 2.4 million to grant scholarships to some 1,100 beneficiary students, about 20% of the total in these centers.
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