Free university for refugees

A controversial decision is been made by the University of Zaragoza to offer free university courses for refugees.

The university has announced that they are working at “maintaining and reinforcing its commitment to act as a reception agent for people in need of international protection and refuge”. This has caused a negative response amongst Spanish people looking to further their education that have to pay for their undergraduate or master’s degrees.

Many of the Spanish people feel that it is unfair that they have to go through the extensive registration process and that their parents and grandparents have been contributing into the system all of their lives.

The Board of Directors have announced that their intention is to “guarantee equal opportunities in access to the University by means of non-dissuasive fees and a system of aid”. There is, however, no mention of applying the same privileges to Spanish nationals.

“One of the missions of the University of Zaragoza is to be an element of transformation that leads the processes of change and must also defend and promote social justice. In today’s globalised society, the institution cannot remain oblivious to the civil and social problems that occur beyond its borders. For these reasons, the Aragon public campus reinforces the commitment it already had to be a host agent with the proposal of free fees for master’s and undergraduate studies,” they issued in a statement.

Many people will be keen to find out just how much of these new measures will be applicable to Spanish residents and how many refugees will be able to register for the free courses.