A better coordination between Administrations (of different political colours) are going to allow the scholarships and helps to the study of this course, the ending is to be paid at the end of April, if everything continues on its course. That is to say, a month earlier than last year, may. But the delay is still long. Since students apply for the scholarship —deadline in mid— October- until they receive the entire amount (in two fractions, since one part is fixed and another variable) can spend more than half a year. An eternity for those who do not have family resources and have to advance the money. The total budget is 1.620 billion euros. Last year 689.000 students received money in their accounts. In the course 2015-2016 the university received a scholarship average of 2.165 euros, to 340 euros less than in 2011, when it reached the maximum allocated.
“the Entire process has been streamlined a month,” says Diego Fernandez-Alberdi, director general of Planning and Educational Management of the Ministry of Education and FP. This 15 of November began to be paid to the fixed part, so that have already become 384.000 students. During the past school year, says Education also manages the college scholarships— were to these heights of 28,000 fewer students who had received the fixed part because the payment process began on the 11th of December. The intention is that you pay all the beneficiaries the fixed part before mid-march.
The management of the fellowships is elephantine. Request the allocation of a million of students of bachillerato, FP, needs-specific support and University. These last are only 25%, but received almost half of the game (46%), because the amount is much greater when you also be your expenses. In a first step, the 50 provincial units, dependent on the regional Governments, review the requests of the school and dismiss those who do not meet the academic requirements (ir passing). The same thing done, but in your case with the university, the units of scholarships open in 80 campus. This information is cross-referenced with the Tax Agency, which provides the data of income. In terms of the money you have at that time, the State is paying for the scholarships by waves (referred to as holdings) of between 30,000 and 50,000 scholarships after passing through the control Intervention.
Together with the personnel of the units of provincial scholarships and the universities (public and private) working for six months, 500 employees, sent by the State Employment Public Service (SEPE), who help review the applications. On this occasion, have begun to work at the beginning of October, when in 2018 are not incorporated until the 3rd of December. “There are more than 1,000 people working, but there are a million applications and it is a very complex process, because there are many variables and requirements that there are to go looking,” says the director general of scholarships. When you have finished the process of paying the fixed part, we will quantify how much money is left of the line item. And depending on the family income and the academic record of each student, will be split again this remnant. In this second installment the amount is variable. More scholarship, less money is entered to each young person.
All the calendar has been moved forward a month. The call for scholarships will be processed in June, instead of July; the decree of thresholds —which establishes what income you can obtain a scholarship— it was also published a month before the application period has been closed a week or two before, and the September meeting with the communities was brought forward three weeks. “We have made a breakthrough in computing. Last year, scholarship applications are received until October 15, but they couldn’t start processing it until after. And this course has been started on the 1st of September with that of August thanks to a change computer,” says the director-general to negotiate with the Tax Agency to have the first tax data of the families at the end of July and not in September.
to 50,000 recipients have received this week an e-mail that they have been informed that, in January or February will enter in their accounts the fixed part. This informative document of grant of scholarship is vital because it relieves them of paying the academic fees. What they have not reported is the amount allocated, because it is not yet known what will be the surplus after the allocation of the fixed part. “The amount does not usually vary from one course to another, but you have to find a way to reduce that uncertainty,” admits Fernandez-Alberdi. There is a simulator to get an idea.
The Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (Airef) has reported that the question on granting of the scholarship “may be the key to deciding whether to pursue university studies”. In the Observatory of Scholarships, students ‘ associations do not get tired of claiming a report with time. While the School Council of the State, which represents the entire educational community, create “required a deep modification of the system of grants, which after the reform of Wert in 2012, “has negative effects on equity”, especially about students with less economic resources.
“we would like to change the model, but as long as we do not have Government budgets and we can’t change the system. One of the most important things is to be granted before the scholarship and all the world know how much you will receive”, defends Fernandez-Alberdi. “We also want to improve the amounts that are fixed, which are still below 2011 and we want to reduce the uncertainty of the variable part”, he concludes.
