- This week, about 17,500 students will conduct an Access Assessment at the University in Hego Euskal Herria, the last one that will repeat the model of these years. The test, the limited public places, the high grades of some careers, the increase and privatization of the university, the advantages of the centers that exaggerate the Baccalaureate grade… will leave many young people with few possibilities.
The test will take place in Navarre 5.5% more than last year, starting this Tuesday, and will show 0.2% more students than last year at the CAV, starting Wednesday. It will consist of two phases, mandatory and optional, and the number of subjects studied has increased considerably this year due to LOMLOE: 23 to 32. It seems that it will be the last to repeat the model of these years, because the Spanish Government is thinking of a model more focused on competences for next year. In addition, Madrid will seek, as far as possible, that the test be as homogeneous as possible for next year, although it has become clear that the dream of PP, that a single examination be carried out in all territories, will be impossible, among other things, by the competences of each community to influence the curriculum.
The starting point is not the same for everyone
On the one hand, not everyone will come to the test in the same way, because in ARGIA we were told that behind a rating there are many factors that have little to do with meritocracy: the study models only take into account certain capacities (and not many more), and depending on the situation of the house, if you can pay private classes, the infrastructures of your country... you will advance in the educational system differently.
On the other hand, a study concludes that in private institutes the students' Baccalaureate notes were exaggerated, and last year we also saw a couple of cases in Navarra, which is detrimental to the young people who have studied in public institutes. In fact, the average of the university entrance tests is 40% and the average of the Baccalaureate notes is 60% when it comes to obtaining the final result. And it should not be forgotten that the Baccalaureate notes have increased their weight in the final grade.
In the Public University there are not enough places because the Administration takes into account that a proportion of students will go to private in the supply
The grade required in some careers is very high, public places are very limited in many subjects. Medicine is probably the most paradigmatic case: In the UPV/EHU fewer than 400 places are offered in the medical degree, although in the last ten years more than 2,000 students want to study Medicine every year. Jon Diaz, a professor at the UPV, says that there are not enough places in the public university because the Administration takes into account that a proportion of students will go to private at the time of bidding. However, those who go to private university because they do not take out the grade they need, or for other reasons, they need money and resources to do so.
In order to access public university, sosas are also needed: university years have elapsed and become more expensive, the tyranny of master's degrees has been imposed, and many voices say that the scholarship system is not enough. This excludes many young people from the university system.