The public universities in the Canary Islands have voiced their discontent over insufficient funding from the Autonomous Community. The rectors of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), Lluís Serra, and the University of La Laguna (ULL), Francisco Javier García, appeared to analyze the initial budget proposal for the 2027-2030 period.
According to the educational institutions, the proposal includes a total budget that is half of what is established by the Organic Law of the University System (LOSU) and foresees a shortfall of 15 million euros for the year 2027. They criticize that the proposal was drafted unilaterally and highlight penalties based on indicators, such as the student-to-classroom ratio, which can reach 2.5% of the base funding, contrasted with objective-based benefits of only 1%.
The ULPGC and ULL point out that the base funding contradicts the LOSU, which sets the autonomous community's contribution at 1% of its GDP by 2030, equivalent to approximately 600 million euros. However, the total funding planned for both universities in that year barely exceeds 320 million, less than half of what is legally established.
Furthermore, the universities are starting from a budgetary deficit that will worsen between 2027 and 2030. For the upcoming year, the regional funding includes a deficit of over 3 million euros to cover state remuneration supplements (1.6% and 0.5% of the Consumer Price Index (CPI)). They argue that the remuneration increase planned for 2027, estimated at around 4.7%, is not included, which would add approximately 11 million euros, bringing the total deficit to about 15 million euros.
