The Ombudsman warns in his 2023 annual report that the income threshold established by the Community of Madrid to receive scholarships for high school study in private centers in Madrid, set at 35,000 euros for each member of the family unit, “does not cover to the principle of equity.”
According to the text, presented this Friday, by the Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, this amount of 35,000 euros “does not guarantee equality in the right to education, compensating for the inequalities of students with unfavorable socioeconomic conditions.”
These are scholarships for the study of Baccalaureate in private centers authorized by the Ministry in which the amount of the scholarship will be used to finance the costs of reserving a place, registration and schooling, without the amount of the scholarship awarded being able to exceed the total cost of the course for these concepts.
Faced with this situation, the Ombudsman conveyed his disagreement to the Community and formulated last year the recommendation to "review" the income criteria, but the proposal was not accepted by the Community of Madrid, this organization regrets.
Specifically, the proposal called for “reviewing” the aid so that it “meets the purpose of compensating for inequalities in education for students with unfavorable socioeconomic conditions.”
The requirements to qualify for aid include not being a repeater of the course for which the scholarship is requested, not exceeding the family per capita income limit of 35,913 euros, and that both conditions are maintained throughout the entire school year.
