News
The event in front of the National Congress was led by the executive vice president of CRUCH, the rector of the University of Valparaíso, Aldo Valle; the rector of the University of Playa Ancha, Patricio Sanhueza and the General Secretary of FEUV, Carlos Vergara.
The demonstration, which took place in front of the National Congress, on Argentina Avenue in Valparaíso, was intended to express opinions on the situation of free higher education and the University Reform.
The event was led by the Rector of the University of Valparaíso (UV), Aldo Valle, Executive Vice President of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities; the Rector of the University of Playa Ancha, Patricio Sanhueza; and Carlos Vergara, Secretary General of the FEUV (Federation of University Students of Valparaíso) and spokesperson for the Confech (Confederation of Chilean Students) Fifth Zone. Also participating were leaders of student federations from universities in the region, administrators, academics, and researchers from the University of Valparaíso, and numerous student representatives.
On that occasion, Rector Aldo Valle explained that the event was convened “to make public our concern, or rather, our impatience, because we see no clarity, no conviction in this higher education reform process. We have seen neither conviction nor clarity in the implementation of free tuition for 2016. Last week, we had to lament the circulation of the idea that free tuition would be implemented excluding three state universities; we initially found it absurd, then perplexing, and finally an intellectual embarrassment, because no one wanted to take responsibility for that bad idea. (…) Ultimately, I think it became clear that this idea lacked political support or was not acceptable to the public. And so, the university communities—certainly the rectors, but also the academics, administrators, student organizations, and the workers' and staff organizations of the universities that make up the Council of Rectors—are on alert, because we are going to face a year in which we must discuss, with the utmost transparency and clarity, what kind of higher education we want for Chili".
Regarding the emergence of two categories of universities, the executive vice president of CRUCh stated, “I hope this will be changed, because we have publicly expressed that within the Council of Rectors, it is true that there are state institutions and other institutions that do not have that status, but they cannot be placed in the same category as private universities created after 1981. I don't want to make generalizations; there are also differences within this group of private universities created after 1981, but we believe it is unfair that the University of Concepción, the Santa María University, or the Catholic University of Valparaíso should be placed in the same category as universities created after 1981, basically and according to a market logic of higher education.”.
He added that “within the Council of Rectors there is a group of non-state institutions that have made a valuable contribution to education, science, culture, and thought, and which, despite not being state-run, constitute the public offering, are part of the Council of Rectors' admissions system, and are institutions with a historical social recognition that no one can deny. Therefore, we believe it is also a mistake, an error, to simply make a dichotomous distinction between state and non-state universities in this short law on free tuition. We have requested an amendment from the executive branch to modify this, and we will certainly not rest until such an amendment is introduced, one that explicitly states that within the Council of Rectors there is a group of institutions that are part of the public offering, governed by a different set of regulations than those governing private universities created after 1981, since many of them lack any legal framework, and it is unclear whether they sometimes operate as real estate companies or university corporations. And obviously, no university within the Council of Rectors should be included in this distinction.” Rectors can be placed in such an ambiguous condition.”.
When asked how the lack of clarity on the issue manifests itself, Valle stated, “It translates into serious difficulties in carrying out this higher education reform. What we observe is a lack of clarity, a lack of conviction. And for that reason, we are now facing the problem that applications will begin next Sunday. It is likely that on that day many students will not know whether the university they are applying to will be part of the free tuition program. This results in a difficulty like that, but also in minorities taking the bills to the Constitutional Court, and ultimately, a body that has neither a democratic nature nor origin is deciding on public policies that clearly concern the will and interests of the majority.”.
Pre-legislative work
On the other hand, regarding whether the project in its current state affects the universities of the Valparaíso Council of Rectors, Aldo Valle stated that “none are excluded from the law that implements free tuition starting in 2016. What we are observing and discussing is that we don't think this short bill should only distinguish between state and non-state universities. We believe that state universities should be distinguished, but then, the non-state universities that are part of the Council of Rectors should also be distinguished, because they have a different category from other private universities that have arisen simply from the will or initiative of entrepreneurs or corporate decisions, which are very respectable in many cases, but which ultimately do not meet the standards of public provision that the Council of Rectors and all the universities that comprise it do.”.
Regarding the pre-legislative work, Valle noted that “yesterday (Monday) the Council of Rectors met in an extraordinary session and agreed to request that government authorities allow us to have a more serene and participatory pre-legislative discussion, with greater dissemination of the content of the law, and not just through drafts or minutes that unfortunately do not fulfill the task of informing and generating opinion and criticism, which is always essential, given that this is a bill that we want to reform these three or four decades of free market in higher education and establish a higher education system that serves the democratic construction of Chilean society, because the one we currently have does not serve that purpose, but rather the opposite: it serves to build a hierarchical, highly segregated society with diminished democratic spaces.”.
Uncertainty due to project
For his part, Carlos Vergara, general secretary of the FEUV (Federation of University Students of Valparaíso), stated that “Confech (Confederation of Chilean Students) called for this national day of protest understanding that the inclusion of state universities in the short bill for free tuition was in jeopardy. This short bill for free tuition, which now even includes non-state universities, also reflects certain issues, and we at Confech are already experiencing some uncertainty. Ultimately, this short bill does not establish the criteria that we at Confech have discussed, which include, for example, the inclusion of parameters that allow for democracy within universities, that also safeguard the labor rights of university workers, that establish a regulatory framework for universities, and also, at least for us, the fact that scholarships continue to be the primary focus, rather than the free tuition we want.”.
In that regard, he added, “we understand that it is important that in 2016 we face the challenges that education presents to us as a strong university community. And not only as a university community, but also all actors in society who can join us. Today we invite not only university presidents, but also representatives from various social organizations, staff, and academics from different universities, and that is ultimately the purpose we have given to this event.”.
The leader added, echoing Rector Valle's sentiments, that “we are on high alert, and that is the point: to be able to come together with different actors in society to build a free education system that truly responds to the interests of Chilean students and the people as a whole. We understand that discussions are currently underway, and the government has also set an agenda that insists on legislating on this short bill as soon as possible, because there are also the interests of the government and the interests of businesspeople who have pressured for this short bill to include certain universities that, in our view, do not uphold what we consider to be democracy. The issue of profit is also important. Accreditation is not the only vital parameter; there are other parameters that are essential to building the university and the free education system we want for next year, and indeed for the future.”.
Consequently, Vergara said, the next steps involve “calling and convening other actors. It is important that this coming year we face a unified agenda, with the rectors, with students, with officials, with academics, with the social actors of education, proposing what we want and encouraging a university reform built with all the social actors.”.
Finally, he emphasized that “our idea is that education should be universally free. At least that has always been the logic, encouraging the idea that it is important to separate the market logic from education, and think of it in terms of rights: education is an important right, and it is also a fundamental pillar in building the Chile we want.”.
Source: Extension and Communications Department, University of Valparaíso.
Spanish 
English