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The Legislative Assembly of Madeira proposes a 30% increase in base funding for universities in Madeira and the Azores to compensate for the additional costs of insularity and ultra-periphery.
The Legislative Assembly of Madeira has approved a proposed law aimed at correcting what it considers to be a "chronic underfunding" of the universities of Madeira and the Azores. The initiative, formalized in Resolution of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of Madeira No. 23/2026/M, will be sent to the Assembly of the Republic to amend the Basic Law on Higher Education Funding.
The proposal argues that the University of Madeira (UMa) and the University of the Azores (UAc) face additional operating costs due to their ultra-peripheral and insular condition, which prevents economies of scale and results in a higher cost of training per student. To compensate for this situation, the diploma proposes amendments to Law No. 37/2003, of August 22, adding two new articles.
The main measures of the proposal are:
The proposal, which cites the rector of UMa, José Sílvio Moreira Fernandes, on the "chronic underfunding" of the institution, was approved in a plenary session on June 17, 2026. The financial increase would only take effect from the entry into force of the State Budget law following its approval.
The Government Council approved a new scholarship regulation, which comes into force in the 2026/2027 academic year, revoking the previous one from 2025.
The Regional Government has altered the budgetary phasing for the energy improvement and renovation works at the D. Lucinda Andrade Basic and Secondary School, maintaining the total investment of 2.3 million euros.
The Autonomous Region of Madeira will financially support the '34th EECERA Annual Conference', one of the world's largest research conferences on early childhood education, taking place in Funchal.