The Ministry of Education and the Council of Rectors will work on an agenda for reforming higher education.

26/05/2011
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  • The Ministry of Education and the Council of Rectors will work on an agenda for reforming higher education.
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Education Minister Joaquín Lavín spoke at the CRUCH plenary session and assured that the Government will seek consensus with the rectors before presenting the initiatives in Congress.

Likewise, it was decided to extend until Monday the 30th at 6 pm the deadline for private universities to respond to the call made by the Council of Rectors to join the traditional admission system (PSU).

In a plenary session of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH), the Minister of Education, Joaquín Lavín, spoke about the Higher Education reform proposed by President Sebastián Piñera in his speech on May 21 and invited the rectors to analyze the proposals together in order to reach consensus.

“We want to reach a consensus on these reform proposals with the Council of Rectors before presenting them and seeking consensus in Congress,” said Minister Lavín.

The aspects that this reform agenda should consider would be related to student funding, institutional framework, and research.
The Council of Rectors appreciated the invitation made by the minister; however, it emphasized that to carry out any reform, it is essential that the State invest more resources than are currently available.
“We, as traditional universities, have much to contribute to improving the current higher education system. There are aspects of the government's proposal that we find valuable, and others that we can strengthen through collaborative work. But it is essential that any reform be accompanied by increased resources,” stated Víctor Pérez, executive vice president of the Council of Rectors.
Furthermore, the university rectors asked Minister Lavín to include representatives of the Confederation of Students of Chile (CONFECH) in the dialogue on Higher Education reform, and to resolve in the best way the conflict that has arisen with the Metropolitan Technological University.

Invitation to private universities

In the session, the CRUCH decided to extend until Monday the 30th at 6:00 PM the deadline for private universities to respond to the call made by the Council to join the traditional admission system, through the University Selection Tests (PSU).
To date, seven of the invited universities have expressed interest in joining the PSU admissions system. These universities are Alberto Hurtado University, Diego Portales University, Mayor University, Adolfo Ibáñez University, Andrés Bello University, University of the Andes, and the Catholic University Cardenal Silva Henríquez.
On Wednesday, June 1, the Council would meet with the schools that have expressed interest to analyze the next steps in this process.