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The Minister of Education met with members of the CRUCH Executive Committee to begin a new pre-legislative phase of the higher education bill. A work schedule will be defined.
“Today there are not enough guarantees for students; education cannot be left exposed to the audacity and cunning of commercial ventures,” said Rector Valle.
With the purpose of establishing a pre-legislative work schedule that addresses the matters that should be included in the higher education reform bill, members of the Executive Committee of the Council of Rectors met with the Minister of Education, Adriana Delpiano, and other authorities of the Ministry of Education for almost three hours.
This meeting, which arose from President Bachelet's decision to postpone the introduction of the bill – initially scheduled for December 31 – to facilitate pre-legislative work with various sectors involved, was attended by the executive vice president of the Council of Rectors and rector of the University of Valparaíso, Aldo Valle; the alternate executive vice president and rector of the Catholic University of Maule, Diego Durán; the rector of the University of Chile, Ennio Vivaldi; the rector of the Federico Santa María Technical University, Darcy Fuenzalida; and the rector of the University of Playa Ancha, Patricio Sanhueza.
After the meeting, Aldo Valle explained that while they did not have access to the Reform bill this time because it has not yet been approved internally, they expect to see it in the coming days. He emphasized that “time is short; every effort must be made so that by the end of January, the President can make a decision to submit the bill to Congress as soon as possible, following this scheduled deliberation.”.
Regulatory framework
The executive vice president argued that the new regulatory framework for the higher education system must consider the admissions system, given the shift in higher education funding. “It cannot be that there are institutions that are part of the free tuition program but lack a public, transparent admissions system (…) that provides guarantees to students and to society as a whole.”.
Along the same lines, he added that “there must also be a definition of certain rules of public order that constitute a higher education system, because it fulfills a public function. It cannot be that institutions do not have to comply with certain requirements in terms of accountability, their legal and patrimonial structure, and the aims and purposes with which they ultimately form part of an education system.».
Finally, the executive vice president of the Council of Rectors stated that “this reform is an opportunity for us to establish a public order that regulates the higher education system and puts an end to the free market that currently prevails in the country. Today, there are insufficient guarantees for students; education cannot be left exposed to the audacity and cunning of commercial ventures.”.
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