barcelona & madrid

Spanish university rectors last week accepted an offer from Esperanza Aguirre, the education and culture minister, to take part in a task force with ministry officials to clarify the main problems facing Spanish universities, namely the control of university curricula and the employment structure of academic staff.

The agreement could end a long battle within the ministry, and between the minister and the Spanish University Rectors' Conference. Last July saw the resignation of Fernando Tejerina, secretary of state for universities and research, who had sided with the rectors, and three other senior ministry officials.

Universities are frustrated by Aguirre's unwillingness to discuss reforms to laws on universities passed in 1983. The rectors want a modified law to enable them to take over control of curriculum design from central government, and to regularize the employment conditions of 23,000 teaching staff hired on short-term contracts in the 1980s. The rectors also want a system of tenure track positions.

Aguirre has promised to issue a universities' policy by the end of the year. According to the new secretary of state for universities and research, Jesus Maria Gonzales, this is likely to include changing academic selection procedures to encourage more competition between universities, and to recruit outside their own institutions and localities.