Academic freedom and higher education regulations. Spanish universities before the European systems

Galindo Lucas Alfonso

Universidad de Cádiz (UCA). Facultad de Empresariales. Avda. Duque de Nájera 8, bureau 108. 11002 Cádiz (Spain). Tf. 956 015 390. Fax: 956 015 386.

E-mail: aalfonso.galindo@uca.es.

Accepted 8 February, 2010

   Abstract

The new university model leads against the right to education and teaching freedom. It is not a matter of theoretical working model, based upon technical argumentations, but an ideological model, leading for upper social classes' interests (great investors' ones). University business not being profitable to those interests must be destroyed. In order to do that, we successfully got divided and tend to believe that teaching method is the problem. But, this is just a decoy; the real problem is all public service destruction, when it is aimed to favor popular classes. In an unperceived way, we contribute to this destruction, by blaming ones the others to be “converging” or “withdrawn”, depending on the case. Academic freedom poses an important problem in the current higher education system, which has a European scope. As it has been granted as a fundamental human right in all countries belonging to the so-called “common area”, academic freedom exercise opposes to specific features in the regulation reform, which seem to be aimed to favor certain private business interests. The pretended advanced and innovative teaching methodologies and the institutional actions and proceedings aimed to limit this right and guarantee face the constitutional order in these countries and harm the very right to education.

Key words: European higher education area, ECTS-credits, convergence, excellence, competence, quality, educational system, university, academic freedom, capitalist interests.