The regional government of the Región de Murcia has asked the Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional for clarification over two letters which, it says, contain contradictory instructions on the age limit for access to Formación Profesional Especial Government spokesperson Marisa López said on 24 September 2026 that they wanted to meet with the Ministry soon to establish which letter is binding and what legal basis it rests on.
At the centre of the dispute is the límite de edad for applicants to Formación Profesional Especial in the 2026/2027 school year. According to the Consejería de Educación One of the letters calls for regional admission rules to be amended, on the grounds that an upper age limit set out in Murcia is incompatible with the national regulation. The Regional Government, however, understands another letter to suggest a different interpretation. According to the region, the deadline for submitting a formal response is 15 October 2026.
The dispute concerns the interpretation of national rules on inclusive vocational education and age limits in programmes geared towards special educational needs. If the Región de Murcia retains a stricter age limit, this would have immediate consequences for affected young people and their families, for example when moving into training, supported day services or employment. Those in favour of a more flexible interpretation argue that rigid age limits could make individual support more difficult; the regional administration, by contrast, points to the need for clear and legally compliant admission criteria.
In Murcia, opposition representatives and education trade unions called for any exclusionary rule to be removed immediately and urged compliance with binding national requirements. The Consejería de Educación announced that it would formally review both letters and ask the Ministry for clear written clarification. According to the Regional Government, it will not announce any changes to ongoing admissions procedures until the matter has been clarified.
The Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional had made no public comment on the content or legal interpretation of the two letters by the time this report was published. What happens next will depend on the announced meeting and any written clarification of the requirements.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).