News
The executive vice president of the Council of Rectors, Juan Manuel Zolezzi, appreciated the willingness to engage in dialogue shown by Minister Marco Antonio Ávila and Undersecretary Verónica Figueroa, stating that he hopes they will understand “our role, which is to advise the Government on the development of public policies.”.
For his part, the alternate executive vice president, Ignacio Sánchez, stated that “all the institutions that are here are very involved in the public contribution to higher education.”.
The meeting also agreed on the first areas of joint work: gender equality and a proposal to support university communities in Ukraine.
“We have a very good space for dialogue,” said Education Minister Marco Antonio Ávila, after meeting for the first time with the full Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) this Thursday, March 31.
The head of the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) attended the 631st session of the Council accompanied by the Undersecretary of Higher Education, Verónica Figueroa, and the head of the University Education Division, Thomas Griggs.
On that occasion, the Secretary of State—who is also the president of CRUCH—affirmed that “it is essential for us to have the support of Chilean universities, which make a tremendous contribution not only to scientific and technological development, but also to identifying territorial and regional needs.” He added that “we want to establish a different kind of relationship, one that focuses not only on resource transfers, but also on sharing a common vision for the country's development.”.
For his part, the Council's Executive Vice President, Juan Manuel Zolezzi (University of Santiago), appreciated the willingness to engage in dialogue shown by the Ministry of Education authorities and stated that “we would like our role, which is to advise the Government on the development of public policies, to be better understood. We believe that, based on what we have heard so far, this role will be understood and we hope that it will also be utilized, because otherwise, it will be lost.”.
Meanwhile, Undersecretary Figueroa addressed the Ministry of Education's programmatic priorities for the higher education sector. She affirmed that "we have encountered a willingness to engage in dialogue and incorporate the pillars that are important to us at the Undersecretariat, such as the gender perspective, plurinationality, territoriality, and above all, discussing educational justice and how institutions contribute to it.".
Public contribution from CRUCH
Regarding the contribution of state and non-state universities (grouped in the G-9) that are part of the organization, Rector Zolezzi highlighted that "the universities of the Council of Rectors have always collaborated with the country's public education.".
Regarding the relationship between the State and universities, Zolezzi stated that “the State has the right to define what it will do and how it will do it, but there will likely be a productive dialogue, in terms of obtaining the greatest possible collaboration from both sides. Here, we seek the best from all sectors to contribute to the country, so no one is excluded.”.
Likewise, the alternate executive vice president Ignacio Sánchez (Catholic University), stated that “in this Council there are 30 institutions that develop public higher education, in the territories and different cities (…) For us, who represent a very integral part of the CRUCH, it seems very positive that the authorities of the ministry have valued the role of the Council and we also find it positive that the proposals they have made to us have made it very clear that a space for conversation is opening up, to find arguments and positions.”.
Sánchez affirmed that “all the institutions present here are deeply involved in public funding for higher education.” He added that “we have no doubt that when we examine the instruments, mechanisms, and public benefit projects of the last 50 years, we will find numerous examples of how public policies have originated and emerged from the various universities within the Council of Rectors.”.
Gender Agenda
In this CRUCH session, held at the Central House of the University of Chile, the CRUCH plenary learned about the progress of its Gender Equality Commission, which is headed by the rector of the University of Aysén, Natacha Pino, and coordinated by the academic Antonia Santos (University of Aysén).
Santos emphasized that “we have done a good job, and the universities and their teams have contributed greatly to implementing gender policies.” She affirmed that the 80% (a gender gap assessment tool) of the institutions that make up the Council has gender gap assessments and that all institutions have updated protocols and carry out awareness and outreach activities.
The commission's work was praised by Minister Ávila, who highlighted that "they have been working on policies related to gender, the trans population, and also sexual dissidence and diversity. This demonstrates how universities are ahead of the curve and helping us prepare better social and cultural scenarios for everyone.".
For her part, Rector Pino stated that “it was a beautiful coincidence to have this agenda item on the agenda during the session, where the committee reported on how we have progressed, but also what the challenges are for this year.”.
Regarding the challenges, she explained that “one of them is clearly how the universities of the Council of Rectors are able to implement Law No. 21,369, which regulates sexual harassment, violence, and gender discrimination in higher education. In that sense, it is very encouraging to find a ministry that has gender issues on its agenda (…) and that is interested in working together, so we can make significant progress.”.
The rector of the University of Aysén highlighted the invitation from the Ministry of Education to join a working group on non-sexist education, which will take place in mid-April.
Support for Ukraine
Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, in early March the Council expressed through a public statement It expressed its solidarity with the citizens and, in particular, with the communities of Ukrainian universities, and requested its Internationalization Commission to prepare a proposal for temporary or permanent placement for academics, students, administrative staff and professionals
The proposal for its evaluation was presented at Thursday's session, which, among other initiatives, includes the incorporation of academics in the field of postgraduate research, internships for undergraduate students, Spanish courses for foreigners, and scholarships for students and their families.
Given that the proposal requires the participation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Health, the new head of the University Education Division of the Undersecretariat of Higher Education, Thomas Griggs, pledged to work with CRUCH and coordinate with the relevant bodies.
*Photographs: University of Chile.
Spanish 
English