The Provincial Council approves the subsidy guidelines against early school leaving

The Diputació de Girona has definitively approved the specific regulatory bases for grants to promote programs and projects against early school leaving (ESL) within the Girona counties. The agreement, adopted by the corporation’s Plenary, is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Girona (BOPG) number 177, dated September 15, 2026, with the official reference BOP-2026_0_177_7958 and a full text spanning pages 1 to 17.

The bases, initially approved by the Plenary in the session of July 21, 2026, were submitted for public information for 20 business days via an announcement in BOPG number 143, dated July 28, 2026, and by reference to the Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya number 9722, dated August 4, 2026. As no allegations were presented, the agreement has become definitive, and the full text, signed by Miquel Noguer Planas on September 8, 2026, is now published.

Purpose and eligible actions

The grants, managed by the Education and Youth service of the Diputació, are framed within the Strategic Grant Plan 2024-2027, approved by the Plenary on December 19, 2023, and aim to reduce the number of ESL cases detected in the district. Actions aimed at people between 15 and 29 years old will be funded:

• Educational accompaniment and guidance, including open classrooms and courses to obtain the secondary education graduate degree (GES).
• Preparation for access tests to post-compulsory studies and other tutored guidance processes.
• Training and integration programs (PFI).
• Programs developed by new opportunity centers (CNO) and new opportunity schools (ENO).

In accordance with article 29.2 of Law 8/2025, of July 30, of the Rural Municipalities Statute, the contribution of projects to the reduction of territorial inequalities in the fight against ESL in rural environments will be assessed. The bases align with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) 4 (quality education) and 5 (gender equality).

Who can apply and how to process

City councils, their dependent bodies, and decentralized municipal entities may apply for the call, provided they meet the requirements of article 13 of Law 38/2003, the general law on grants. The procedure is one of competitive bidding and public call, which must be approved by the Governing Board of the Diputació, and processing is carried out entirely through the corporation’s Grant Portal.

The amount of each grant may not exceed 10,000.00 euros nor be less than 1,000.00 euros, and will be determined based on the evaluation of each application. The maximum deadline to resolve and notify is six months from the end of the application submission period, and justification will be made through a simplified justification account.

Evaluation criteria

The minimum score to access the grants is 20 points, and projects will be evaluated according to criteria such as the educational and youth interest of the activity, the promotion of gender equality, environmental sustainability, the inclusion of vulnerable groups, and the assessment of professional training. Participation and social impact, direct attention to users, the budget, the municipality’s population, and the territorial socioeconomic index (IST), as well as the number of students who do not promote in compulsory secondary education (ESO), are also taken into account.

The Evaluation Commission, chaired by the delegated deputy for Education and Youth, will issue the minutes with the favorable report on the result of the evaluation, and the Governing Board will definitively resolve the granting of the aid.

Impact for municipalities

With this approval, city councils and entities in the Girona regions have a stable and definitive framework to present projects against early school leaving, with special attention to rural municipalities and areas with the worst socioeconomic indicators. The corresponding call, which will establish the execution period and the deadline for submitting applications, will be published shortly in the BOPG, and the summary will also be disseminated on the Diputació’s Grants Portal.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Girona, no. 177, September 15, 2026, pp. 1-17 (official reference: BOP-2026_0_177_7958).