The key facts

  • The Council of Ministers on Tuesday will consider a €45 million package for university residences — around 2,000 new places in the first phase (seven projects).
  • A new university student statute is also to be approved: expanded rights, representation, psychological support, and the right to digital disconnection.
  • Sánchez said the housing crisis undermines equal access to higher education.

Funding package and student statute

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Monday at an event at the Moncloa Palace that on Tuesday the Council of Ministers will approve a €45 million ($50.4 million) package to promote university residences, as well as a new university student statute aimed at strengthening the protection of students. According to him, the funding will support seven projects, which in the initial phase will create nearly 2,000 new accommodation places at public universities across the country.

Housing and equal opportunities

Sánchez warned that the housing crisis in Spain undermines equal access to higher education. “When a student cannot afford to live where they would like to study, in the end the university ceases to be the engine of prosperity and equal opportunity that we all want it to be,” Anadolu quoted him as saying. He also stressed that universities must be protected and adequately funded in order to fulfil their role in ensuring equal opportunities.

Contents of the new statute

According to Sánchez, the new university student statute will introduce additional rights, strengthen student representation and mobility, and expand psychological support. It will also promote work-study balance, protect personal data, enshrine the right to digital disconnection, and improve academic mentoring and internship systems.