There are two people. One from Línea de la Concepción and another from Lanzarote. Both study at the National Distance Education University because both have decided to choose a way to achieve their dream or goal that avoids the problems generated by their geographical, work or personal situation. Both are, in theory, equal in the system of said institution. Until the territorial organization of the State comes into play.
In June 2017, the Junta de Andalucía announced the bonus of university tuition fees for students of the Public Universities of Andalusia. This fact meant the culmination of the desire already expressed by the Andalusian rectors in 2016. Each Autonomous Community is free, according to the territorial model, to dispose of its budget item in the way it considers best as long as it remains within the margins established by Law, such as the Budgetary Stability and Financial Sustainability Law. Thus, the Junta de Andalucía decided to subsidize the tuition fees of those students who had passed the subjects taken in the previous academic period with a 5, in order to favor university enrollment and apply an aggressive policy in the system of study aid, given that the Central Government was accused at that time of increasing the gap between rich and poor in terms of access to training.
The prices of university credits are determined by each Autonomous Community, within the limits set by the Organic Law of Universities (http://www.observatoriuniversitari.org/es/files/2017/01/Por-que-precios-tan-distintos.pdf) and published in the corresponding bulletin. Prices are also usually differentiated according to the type of studies, with humanities being the cheapest credits. Thus, within this range, we can find substantial price differences between studying a degree (we will use Architecture in this case) in Andalusia, the Canary Islands or Madrid. Being 12.62?, 17.43? and 25.18? respectively. The exception is the UNED, which has the price of its credits determined by the Ministry of Education since it is a national university, not from an Autonomous Community. Its price being 21.60?, thus placing it in the weighted average at the national level according to the OCU (https://www.ocu.org/consumo-familia/derechos-consumidor/informe/diferencias-precios-universidades). So far so good. Each CCAA determines the price for its universities and thus, every university student residing in said community is on equal terms for access to university studies, without generating a real inequality. The price inequality between the different CC.AA. derives from the political decentralization determined by the territorial organization of the State. Therefore, no one has the right to interfere in the decisions carried out by each autonomous government if it intends to safeguard its own freedom of action within the framework of acquired powers.
The problem arises when the Junta de Andalucía signs an agreement with the UNED (http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/presidencia/portavoz/educacion/130792/junta/incorporara/bonificaciones/matricula/uned/proximo/decreto/precios/universidad/andaluzas) this same year 2018, by which, it will also subsidize the credits of Andalusian residents who study at said university. The reason? Obviously, the UNED is not willing to lose an undetermined number of students (between 20,000 and 25,000 in 2017) who prefer to move to other Andalusian university centers where their studies will be subsidized, which is a logical action from the individualistic point of view of the student when trying to maximize the available options. It is a problem because this policy, so laudable, generates a de facto inequality between students of the same center. Until the signing of said agreement, all UNED students were on equal terms. If you got an Honors Degree, you were compensated for the bonus of a subject in the next enrollment; wherever you went to live, the price of the credit would be the same for everyone; and so on with a long etc. Technically they were at the same starting level, in all aspects, that is why it is called 'National'. Now, some will have 'privileges' with respect to others, which goes against the basic concept of every social state, that of equal opportunities.
Let's go back to the initial example of the two students. Both suffer an economic unforeseen event that makes it impossible to enjoy access to the enrollment of the next course. The one from Línea de la Concepción has no problems since he will be subsidized 99%, while the one from Lanzarote will have to wait who knows how long, until he can enroll again and thus finish his studies. This situation derived from the agreement between an autonomous body and a national institution generates a dysfunction in terms of equality that breaks with the principle of non-interference within the powers of each party. What is national is national, what is autonomous is autonomous. And so, no one is left out of the pot. With this I am not requesting that the Agreement be eliminated. Not at all. What's more, I have a nephew studying in Seville and I know what it means to have absolute peace of mind when it comes to paying for your studies. That income that remains available allows you to obtain a better quality of student life, in addition to resources of all kinds that before, perhaps, would not be within your reach.
The problem raised here is true, I am the student from Lanzarote. What's more, the problem exposed here can be extrapolated to other areas such as the fiscal one, where a person may have to pay 54? in the income tax return in Aragon while the same return returns 450? in the Basque Country; or the health one, so in vogue at the moment with the issue of the single health card, where you have to have certain documentation to receive family medical care in a CCAA where you are not a resident. These two cases are also true since I have lived them myself.
Therefore, it is clear that the territorial organization was an experiment that at the time solved one of the great problems of Spain, the territorial one. But that at present has only generated a series of dysfunctions that derive in an inequality at all levels. And that, article 2 of the CE, promotes one of its basic principles, that of interregional solidarity. This principle requires that public authorities refrain from adopting decisions that harm the general interest. And what is more important for the general interest than equal opportunities for all citizens of this country?
