New initiative: University Entrance Course for Roma aged 25 and over [editar]

This course aims to prepare Roma people aged 25 and over to pass the university entrance exam and to facilitate their continued education through university studies or vocational training programmes.

According to data from the study The Educational Situation of Roma Students in Spain (FSG, 2023), Roma students continue to face significant educational inequalities that begin to manifest even before they complete Compulsory Secondary Education. The school drop-out rate amongst Roma young people aged 16 to 24 who do not obtain their Compulsory Secondary Education certificate stands at 62.8 per cent, compared with 4 per cent in the general population.

Furthermore, only 14.3 per cent of Roma pupils who complete Compulsory Secondary Education go on to further study, a figure far below the 71.2 per cent for the Spanish student population as a whole.

This inequality is particularly evident in access to higher education. Whilst 31.5 per cent of the general population aged between 18 and 24 go on to university, among the Roma population this figure drops to 1.6 per cent, highlighting a still very limited presence at this level of education.

Similarly, the percentage of young people aged between 16 and 24 who have completed higher education stands at 15.8 per cent in the general population, compared with 0.4 per cent in the Roma population. This figure, which was already low in 2012 (0.9 per cent), has fallen to less than half by 2022.

In order to help reverse this situation, the ‘Fundación Secretariado Gitano’ is launching a new call for grant applications to facilitate access to and retention of adult Roma on higher education pathways.

 

This call for applications for grants for the UNED (National Distance Education University) University Entrance Course for People Aged 25 and Over aims to support and prepare Roma people aged 25 and over to pass the university entrance exam and subsequently pursue university studies or vocational training courses.

The course will run from September 2026 to June 2027 and will combine online learning via the UNED’s virtual platform with face-to-face tutoring sessions at its partner centres. Participants will also be required to attend a face-to-face seminar and, as part of the grant received, take on an active role in supporting and mentoring other Roma students, thereby helping to strengthen the educational community.

The grant is aimed at Roma people residing in Spain who are aged 25 or over, or who will reach that age in the calendar year in which the examination takes place, and who have not previously accessed higher education through the standard routes.

This initiative is being carried out thanks to a collaboration agreement between the Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG) and the National University of Distance Education (UNED), and is funded through a call for grants from the 2025 Income Tax allocation of the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and 2030 Agenda.