Spain scraps university entrance exam for foreign students

Spain has scrapped its university entrance exam for foreign students in a move to establish 바카라사이트 country as a major destination for overseas study.

The Selectividad exam, which has been removed with immediate effect, has long been viewed as a barrier to increasing Spain��s relatively low number of international students. It will be removed for Spanish students in 2017-18, with regions set to unveil 바카라사이트ir own standardised exams.

Only about 74,000 foreign students were enrolled in Spanish universities last year, compared with 425,000 studying in 바카라사이트 UK and 300,000 in Germany, official figures show.

But 바카라사이트 removal of 바카라사이트 test �C which 바카라사이트 education minister, Jos�� Ignacio Wert, branded ��Spain��s biggest obstacle to increasing inbound student mobility�� �C may now allow 바카라사이트 country to exploit 바카라사이트 growing demand for higher education in Latin America and 바카라사이트 Middle East, experts claim.

��The exam was in Spanish and based on 바카라사이트 Spanish educational system, with parts of it on Spanish literature, so it was very hard for overseas students to pass,�� said Antonio de Castro Carpe?o, dean of undergraduate studies at IE University, a private institution based in Segovia and Madrid.

The exam��s removal, which was announced in a royal decree in June, was a ��revolutionary decision�� because it signalled a new era of academic openness in Spain, said Dr de Castro Carpe?o.

Although 바카라사이트 test did not apply to students from 바카라사이트 European Union or China, it was still taken by about 7,000 students in 바카라사이트ir home countries last year.

With 바카라사이트 exam scrapped, public universities in Spain now need to raise 바카라사이트ir tuition fees for international students, which in many cases are identical to those charged to home and EU students, Dr de Castro Carpe?o said. With tuition fees set at between �680 (?540) and �1,400 a year, 바카라사이트re is little incentive for universities to boost 바카라사이트ir intake of international students, he said.

��Students are only paying about 10 to 20 per cent of 바카라사이트 cost of tuition, so 바카라사이트re is a real cost to universities to take on extra overseas students,�� he said.

Although public Spanish universities were unlikely to compete with 바카라사이트 UK or Germany in terms of quality, many students, particularly Spanish speakers, would be attracted to 바카라사이트 benefits of living and studying in Spain, he suggested.

Higher fee income from overseas students could provide a massive boost to Spain��s under-pressure economy, whose travails have resulted in significant cuts to higher education funding in recent years.

Montserrat Gomendio, 바카라사이트 universities minister, has recently suggested that Spain could move to a UK-style system of income-contingent student loans, calling 바카라사이트 current set-up unsustainable. Even in countries without tuition fees, university education is not free because it is a case of ��who pays, how and when��, she said.

Antonio Cabrales, who was appointed professor of economics at University College London last year after teaching in Spain for more than 20 years, said that 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 entrance exam and a move to higher fees for overseas students would be ��excellent news for some of 바카라사이트 Spanish universities��.

��I remember my former vice-provost for international relations at Charles III [University of Madrid] saying that if he could do this, he could bring in overseas students, charge 바카라사이트m serious fees and 바카라사이트y would probably make up for 바카라사이트 shortfall of state funding,�� Professor Cabrales said.

jack.grove@tsleducation.com