Spain's Education Ministry has ordered Moroccan students to repay a total of €7.88 million in scholarships awarded across eight academic years, from 2018/2019 to 2025/2026. According to data obtained through a transparency request, the ministry has demanded the repayment of €446.2 million in grants from students, with foreign students accounting for €33.6 million of that total. Morocco sits at the top of the list by amount reclaimed.
The data, which appears in a resolution signed by Abelardo de la Rosa Díaz, the secretary of state for education, covers general scholarship calls for university and non-university post-compulsory studies. The resolution does not state what share of the demanded amount has been recovered or how much actually returned to public coffers. A denial of a scholarship application is different from a reintegro, or clawback, which applies to aid already granted that the administration later asks to be returned.
Morocco's position reflects its large presence among foreign beneficiaries of Spanish scholarships. Across the eight academic years, Morocco recorded the most foreign scholarship students in Spain, with 61,774 people, or 20.10% of all foreigners in the table. Romania followed closely with 61,129 students, or 19.89%, while China ranked third with 18,399 students.
The breakdown by nationality places Morocco first at €7,886,541.02, equal to 23.46% of the sum demanded from foreign students. Romania stands second at €5,893,253.61, or 17.53%, while Venezuela follows with €1,585,277.39. The reasons behind the clawbacks point overwhelmingly to students leaving their studies, with abandonment of non-university studies being the leading cause.
Abandonment of non-university studies accounted for 126,016 cases, or 52.53% of the 239,884 counted, while abandonment of university studies added 91,201 cases, or 38.02% of the total. Together, the two categories account for 217,217 cases, or 90.55%, close to nine in ten. The yearly totals also shifted sharply over the period, with €35.1 million reclaimed in 2018/2019.
The figure fell to €24.9 million the next year before climbing to €67.3 million in 2020/2021, peaking at €81.9 million in 2021/2022. It then eased to €74.8 million in 2022/2023 and €69.25 million in 2023/2024, before rising again to €72.3 million in 2024/2025. For 2025/2026, the provisional total stands at €20.6 million.
In total, the series lists 307,334 records of foreign scholarship students against 5.5 million for Spaniards, for a combined 5.8 million. These are not necessarily unique individuals, since a student can receive aid in more than one course. For scale, the ministry's official July 2026 figures put total scholarship funding for 2024/2025 at €2.565 billion, covering 1.49 million beneficiaries.
Key points
- Moroccan students owe €7.88 million in reclaimed scholarships.
- Spain's Education Ministry has demanded €446.2 million in grants be returned from students.
- Abandonment of studies is the main reason for clawbacks.
