Never before have there been so many students and never has private capital put so much money on the table to enter colleges, universities and vocational training centers.
Historical record of students… driven by the private sector. The Spanish university system has reached 1.9 million students this year, an unprecedented figure.
- Enrollments in private centers have grown by 129%, compared to 2% in public ones.
- In 2026, private universities will outnumber state universities, which have remained stagnant at 50 since 1998, while those dependent on companies and foundations have gone from 4 to 46.
The FP, the new area of expansion. Today it has 1.2 million students and 34% study in private centers, compared to 28% six years ago. In communities such as the Basque Country, Madrid, Aragon or Catalonia, the percentages exceed 35%.
The landing of investment funds. Venture capital has identified an attractive sector in education.
- Between 2020 and 2025, 386 global transactions have been registered in the education sector.
- Spain is the fourth country with the highest investment activity, with 30 operations.
And why do they focus on education? Because they see it as an expanding sector, with stable income and room for growth.
The Government tries to set limits. The Executive has tightened the conditions for creating new private universities and is preparing regulations to stop centers without quality guarantees, both in universities and in vocational training.
©Photo: Álvaro Cabrera
If you want to know more, you can read here.
date: 2026-02-15 07:55:00