January 16, 2024.– The Ministry of Education and Professional Training of the Government of Spain has granted scholarships to 2,500 university and non-university students in the province of Ávila for a value close to 7 million euros.
Among the beneficiaries of this aid are more than 850 university students enrolled in the Catholic University Santa Teresa de Jesus and in the centres attached in Ávila of the University of Salamanca (University School of Education and Tourism, Higher Polytechnic School of Ávila and University School of Nursing of Ávila), which have received study grants amounting to around 3 million euros.
On the other hand, a total of 1,413 students from non-university levels have received scholarships in Ávila worth € 3,423,326, to which must be added € 141,513.50 of aid that will be received by 231 students with specific educational support needs. In total, between university and non-university students, the Ministry of Education allocates almost seven million euros in scholarships in Ávila.
The government’s deputy delegate, Fernando Galeano, stressed that the budget for scholarships for the year 2023 has been “the largest in history and has allowed 2,500 young people from Angola to enjoy this right.” “The Government started a path in this legislature that wants to continue addressing, improving the budget for scholarships and improving the management of resources so that students can see the integrity of their scholarship paid when before,” he said.
Nationally, more than 1.57 million students nationwide applied for scholarships last year. In order to cater for as many students as possible, the Government has been increasing the budget allocated to scholarships year by year.
Thanks to the increase in investment and the acceleration in the processing, it was possible to advance to December the payment of part of the variable amount of just over half a million students. The first payment was also made to public universities in compensation for the free tuition of the fellows.
Changes in income thresholds
Over the last six years, in addition to increasing the budget by more than one billion euros, the Government has been introducing changes in the call for scholarships with the aim of reaching the students who need them most and thus improving the equity and quality of the education system.
In this course, the main novelty is the increase in the amount of the residency scholarship, which goes from 1,600 to 2,500 euros, to help students who have to move from their locality to continue their studies. In addition, a supplementary aid of 400€ was included to cover the additional expenses that families of students with specific need of educational support must face.
This assistance will be maintained in the call for applications for the 2024-2025 academic year. As a main novelty, there is the 5% increase in all income thresholds, which will prevent some students who in recent years were being left out of this aid for slightly exceeding these limits from obtaining them again.
In addition, the percentage of disability that needs to be accredited to apply for grants for students with a specific need for educational support will be reduced to 25% and the measures hitherto applied to victims of gender violence will be extended to minor victims of sexual violence.
Scholarship of scholars
On the other hand, the subdelegate of the Government in Ávila, Fernando Galeno, has also referred to the “good news” that supposes the contribution in the Social Security system of the scholarship recipients who carry out unpaid internships, a measure that entered into force on January 1.
In this sense, university students who carry out internships to obtain official undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees, as well as their own degrees (master’s degree in lifelong learning, diploma of specialization or expert) must be included in Social Security as assimilated to employed persons. In addition, persons carrying out vocational training must be included, provided that this is not intensive vocational training.