Jokin Bildarratz Hezkuntzako sailburuak, Adolfo Morais Unibertsitate eta Ikerketa sailburuordea alboan zuela, Hezkuntza Sailak 2021-2022 ikasturterako unibertsitate-tasa publikoen eta beken inguruan Hezkuntza Sailak onartu dituen neurri nagusiak ezagutarazi ditu iragan maiatzaren 7an. Atzo eman zitzaien neurri horien guztien berri Euskadiko Unibertsitate Kontseiluari eta Unibertsitate-Irakaskuntza Publikoa Koordinatzeko Kontseiluari, azken kontseilu honen onarpenarekin. 

Hartutako neurriak azaltzeari ekin baino lehen, Hezkuntzako sailburuak azpimarratu zuen unibertsitate-beken eta -laguntzen politika lehentasunezkoa dela Eusko Jaurlaritzaren hezkuntza-politikan, eta Hezkuntza Sailak euskal unibertsitate-ekosistemako eragileekin horretarako duen koordinazioa nabarmendu du, haien inplikazioa eta konpromisoa eskertuz. 

Hezkuntza Sailak hartutako neurrien helburua, Bildarratzek laburbildu zuenez, familiei laguntzea, ekitatea bermatzea eta Euskal Unibertsitate Sistemaren kalitatea indartzea izan da. 

Public university fees for the 2021-2022 academic year

Minister Jokin Bildarratz explained the measures that the Vice-Minister for Universities and Research has developed and taken regarding public university prices for the 2021-2022 academic year.

• Freezing university fees completely. In the next academic year 2021-2022, enrollment at the UPV / EHU will be frozen again for undergraduate, master's and doctoral studies. The measure will also apply to first and subsequent enrollments.

Thus, public university fees will remain unchanged for the seventh consecutive academic year (2015-2016 academic year to 2021-2022 academic year). This measure will directly affect more than 64,000 students at the UPV / EHU.

• 5% reduction in enrollment for STEM degrees. Undergraduate studies in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) will be subject to a 5% discount on enrollment. Engineering degrees or
•  Degrees are mostly in the branch of science (to name a few examples, Physics, Mathematics, Geology, Chemistry, Biochemistry). This is a measure in line with the Steam Euskadi Strategy promoted by the Department of Education.
• The aim of this strategy is to ignite scientific and technological vocations and bring Basque students, especially girls, closer to the aforementioned STEM disciplines.

The aim of this strategy is to ignite scientific and technological vocations and bring Basque students, especially girls, closer to the aforementioned STEM disciplines.

With regard to these measures, the Minister spoke about the great effort being made in recent years by the Department of Education to keep rates without a rise, with the aim of helping families in difficult economic situations; be it because of the economic crisis of a few years ago, be it because of the complex situation caused by the pandemic.

University Scholarships, 2021-2022

The Department of Education also announced yesterday to the two councils (the University Council of the Basque Country and the Council for the Coordination of Public University Education) the main innovations that will be applied in the call for university scholarships for the 2021-2022 academic year. These measures are aimed at almost 12,000 university students who receive this support each year.

With regard to university scholarships, Minister Bildarratz confirmed that the Basque Government guarantees that all students who meet the requirements will receive the established amounts in full, regardless of the number of scholarship holders in a call. In addition, these amounts are fixed and guaranteed, and the eligible student knows in advance how much they will receive.

Therefore, he emphasized that both the measures announced in terms of fees and those adopted for university scholarships are essential in the design of educational policies, as they guarantee equity and equal opportunities for all students when entering university.

The main novelties of the university scholarships for the 2021-2022 academic year are:

• Advanced Scholarship Management: A measure of paramount importance to family and student fellows. The Department of Education has set itself the goal of streamlining scholarship processing so that all scholarship applications receive a response during the first quarter of the school year and students can receive support before the end of the year, if the answer is yes. In this way, eligible students will receive the appropriate support as soon as possible.
• Correction coefficient for rent for Covid-19. As in the previous scholarship call (2020-2021 academic year), the correction coefficient of reduction in the income tax return for the next academic year will be maintained for families affected by the economic impact of Covi-19. Scholarships and grants for one academic year are usually awarded based on the income of the family unit in the previous year's income tax return. In this pandemic situation, the previous year’s income may not reflect the family’s dire economic situation, even if they are experiencing a bad economic period at the time the grant is being applied for. The correction coefficient (5%) will be applied in the case of unemployment, temporary employment regulation (ERTE), employment regulation (ERE) or similar.
• Learning support. The amount corresponding to the concept of “Learning Support” has been increased, incorporating the digitalisation approach as a novelty. Thus, university students who receive a scholarship will also receive a grant of at least 300 euros per year (between 300 and 475 euros, depending on the income limit), as a learning grant. This concept now incorporates a digital transformation approach. This number will be maintained throughout the degree, which will allow students to obtain a computer or other items needed for training.
• Flexibility in the census requirement. Enrollment remains a condition, but in some cases it is flexible, so it will be helpful for some families. Until now, in order to receive a scholarship, it was necessary for the student to be registered in the Basque Country and for the tax office to be established in the Basque Country. Now, the registration criteria have been extended, so that students from families with a tax residence in the Basque Country can obtain scholarships, even if they are registered outside the Basque Country.