Last Wednesday, the deans of the Faculty of the Arts and Humanities Branch of the set of the Spanish State, who gathered at the assembly together at XXIII Conference of the Office of the vice-dean of Arts, made public a declaration where they express “the firm commitment of fights for the defence of the role of teaching Arts in society and at present time”. As for its concern about the deterioration of public universities “for the teaching, research and management”.
At Universitat de València, the reading of the declaration took place at the building of the Office of the Principal, with the presence of the deans of the Faculty of Philology, Translation and Communication, Carles Padilla; the Dean of the Faculty of Geography and History, Ester Alba; dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Education Sciences, Jesús Alcolea; Vice-Principal of Undergraduate Studies and Language Policy Service, Isabel Vázquez; and the Vice-Principal of Teaching Staff and Academic Planning, Maria Vicenta Mestre. The event was supported by the dean of the Faculty of Physiotherapy Antonio Alberola; and by the president of the PDI Board, Amat Sánchez.
The deans of Arts decided to name their document as “Salamanca’s declaration”
SALAMANCA’S DECLARATION
1) We demand a commitment for the defence of the public university and we express our disagreement for the tendency, every time more frequent, of externalisation and privatisation of the management, basing itself in the false pretence of efficiency and profitability of this system and stablishing a tortuous, persistence and false dichotomy between public, which is a synonym for invalidity, and private, profitability and efficiency.
2) We demand the equation of the education and research budgets regarding the European Union, as the constant reduction of budgetary appropriations for public universities and the constant uncertainty in this way has reduced the capacity to act and they have prevented it from an adequate management.
3) We demand an appropriate generational change he teachers, as for the cutbacks policies of the past years which led the depart of several professors of public university because of retirements or lack of promotion perspectives. Replacement fees have become a veiled tool oriented only towards reducing expenditure, which will inevitably lead, in medium and long term, to the disappearing of centre and degrees due to the lack of teachers. On the other hand, this policy prevented the suitable incorporation of teachers undergoing training from their incorporation, and they were substituted for a precarious and cheap labour. They cut the teachers’ promotion short, finishing with the academic career indeed.
4) We demand a similar commitment from all the full-time teaching and research staff at public universities. This implies the abolition of article 2.a. and b. of the Royal Decree 14/2012, and the recognition of the research activity for the economic effects, according to the R.D. 1086/1989, the present situation of the valuation of research through the sexennial or the research sections is an anomalous phenomenon practically in all Europa and, not only it contributes to the quantitative and qualitative increase of the scientific production in Spain, it converted the research in a predominant formal task, where the signs of quality and the rates of impact -many times manipulated or lead- substituted free research and the originality and exiled the contents and the consisting thesis, which are elements which characterise true scientific knowledge. Furthermore, this system created frustration because of many incomprehensible valuations, not very objectives and rigours in excess. Specially in the areas of Arts and Humanities Branch, where valuable criteria are imposed suitable only for other scientific fields.
5º) We demand the suspension, from the Spanish government, of the Royal Decree 43/2015, and, if not, not to take effect from the universities, toward the a the possible structuration of the university teachings in degrees of three years and masters of two years. Our experience is based on the reasons that the Royal Decree supports are false and they mean, once again, an attack against our public university teaching. Such Royal Decree was made in a context in which still nowadays they are recognising the present degrees without any time at all in order not to carry out a diagnosis and a consisting evaluation of the current course of studies. It did not take into account the opinions of the university community at all; it alters the current competences of degrees; it does not show the possibility to take suitable masters; it raises the price of studying and, in this way, equal opportunities do not exist because not every student has the possibility to study it; it supposes technical problems for the recognition of credits, and above all, it demotes the level of university teaching.
6) We demand the equation of the university degree fees and master among them and among the different Autonomous communities, and the amount of needed number of scholarships with the right amount to avoid the bankruptcy of constitutional law for the equation of opportunities.
7) We demand to stop the excess of interventions of Autonomous Regions and of the government of the university nation, restarting the genuine meaning of university autonomy which article 27, 10, of the Spanish Constitution confers to the University.
8) We demand to stop bureaucratisation of university labour, which overwhelm the university centres and which had an impact on the unreasonable increase of administrative tasks of the P.D.I, at the expense of teachers and researchers.
9) We demand a substantial change of the administrative and service staff situation, which has also been going down at an alarming rate, while administrative tasks kept raising. This situation had an effect on the delay of paperwork and of the deterioration of the quality of public service, besides it creates an atmosphere of dissatisfaction and lack of motivation in this group. It is therefore indispensable and urgent to give to the administrative units of such Centres, fundamentally, sufficient and qualified staff and appropriate technical means.
10) We demand a commitment of dialog and the will to obtain an agreement among every actor of the Spanish university system for any substantial or structural modification which may affect them. The deans of Arts and Humanities Branch stand up for pact of State among the different political powers which provides strength and continuity in the university training field and which keeps, respecting the diversity, some minimum homogeneous requirements for the degrees, regardless of the centres and Autonomous Regions where they are given.
Salamanca, 21st March 2015.
Last update: 6 de may de 2015 13:30.
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