The rector of the University of Seville (US), Carmen Vargas, conveyed this Tuesday to the entity’s Governing Council the need to apply a budget adjustment of 16 million determined by the extension of the 2025 accounts, which does not contemplate the 2.5% salary increase approved by the central Government, a financial imbalance that worsens because the “envelope that each university will receive for 2026, essential to prepare a new budget,” has not yet been closed with the Junta de Andalucía, according to the argument given by the new head of Hispalense. Among the measures being explored are the reduction of centers during the afternoon, the decrease in hiring temporary labor faculty, or the reorganization of teaching groups.
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Vargas, who acknowledged “the concern” experienced among the university community, stated this Wednesday that, given this situation, in which the agreement with the Junta de Andalucía has not been closed, what the university is doing is “working on some issues, because it is common sense that we have to make some kind of adjustment while the definitive financing data does not arrive.” Sources from the entity insist that actions are being taken based on “provisional data” and that consultations are being held with all affected parties to reach consensus on the adjustment plan that must be presented to the Governing Council for approval. Last Friday, department directors received an email requesting suggestions to make cuts, according to what this newspaper has learned.
The Junta de Andalucía, through the Ministry of University, differs from the rector’s explanations and maintains that the US budgets are not extended, because the regional Parliament approved the 2026 accounts and that the only thing pending is to close the distribution of 1,788.2 million euros among the universities, expandable up to 1,825, with the second distribution contemplated in June. The Andalusian Administration also claims to be unaware of that gap between income and expenses of this center and has suggested that the deviation could have been caused by the use of 4.5 million of surpluses without authorization by the previous US management team.
The US was forced to extend its accounts as the phase of preparing the new budgets coincided with the election of the successor to the former rector. Vargas has conveyed that they are “working very intensively with the Junta de Andalucía” on the envelope and trusts to “reach an agreement on that distribution soon.” This step, according to the rector, is essential to know what will be needed to pay staff, and thus determine if adjustments related to teaching groups and other measures being considered are necessary. “The president and the minister have shown a very positive attitude towards Andalusian public universities. Negotiations are going well and I trust that an agreement will be reached soon,” said the rector.
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Neither the faculty nor the union representatives – who have already warned of possible mobilizations – share Vargas’s optimism. “Some professors have not received certain supplements to which we were entitled since 2024,” warns one of the teachers, who requests anonymity. From the Conference of Deans and Directors of the US, its president, Inmaculada Murcia, has also expressed the “discontent” of its members regarding measures that may affect the quality of teaching, increasing the risk of returning to times of overcrowded classrooms that hinder continuous assessment. Union representatives have reproached the rector’s lack of firmness in this underfunding situation, especially as regional elections approach.
University funding is one of the battlegrounds of the Junta de Andalucía, along with the laxity in opening the door to the penetration of private universities in the community – four in this legislature. When the new university law was approved, the rectors of public higher education centers questioned the new system included in the recently approved Andalusian University Law, understanding that guarantees for its compliance were not included. The Junta has always defended that the new distribution model ensures the 2.5% salary increase, something that, for now, the US cannot afford.
In her speech, the rector also addressed other strategic points of her electoral program, the launch of an office for attracting institutional strategic funds, to guarantee financing with own resources of 35%. The lines of action of this new entity include locating and attracting international, national, regional, and local funds; enhancing the strategic grant plan, planning patronage actions, and specific initiatives such as exploiting spaces or brand image to boost that self-financing.