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The rector of the University of Chile, Rosa Devés; the rector of the Catholic University, Ignacio Sánchez; and the executive vice president of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH), Emilio Rodríguez; expressed their concern about the budget for universities.
Rather than additional resources, CRUCH proposes a restructuring that prioritizes investment in research and development, inclusion policies, and the strengthening of institutional capacities, guaranteeing the continuity of essential functions.
In the lead-up to the discussion of the budget for the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, October 30, in the Fourth Joint Subcommittee on Budgets, the rectors of the CRUCH have stated that, while they value the creation of the Structural Financing Fund for University Research, Development and Innovation (FIU), the amounts currently allocated are insufficient to effectively cover the needs they seek to address.
“We are deeply concerned about the 2025 budget proposal, particularly in the area of science, technology, knowledge, and innovation, given that there is a presidential announcement, a presidential promise made within the framework of the CRUCH's 70th anniversary, and we cannot see how it is being implemented, since the budget basically shows zero growth,” said Emilio Rodríguez, Executive Vice President of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities and Rector of the University of Tarapacá.
“In the last year, Chile showed an investment in research and development equivalent to 0.391% of its Gross Domestic Product, a figure that is still very low within the context of OECD countries and is even surpassed by other countries in the Latin American region. However, despite this limited investment in research and development, the academic productivity of research, development, and innovation, and the impact it generates on society, is very high—among the highest in Latin America. Therefore, it is not surprising that Chilean universities are among the best in the most important rankings in our Latin American region,” argued Rodríguez.
The rector of the University of Chile, Rosa Devés, agreed that the budget is very worrying, since “in addition to representing a decrease in resources for institutional strengthening, especially for public education, it does not include the resources announced to promote scientific research.” Furthermore, she observed a contradiction between the rhetoric and the budget proposal. “This becomes clear when we review the promise made when creating the University R&D&I Structural Financing Program, when it was stated that this program would guarantee funds for 'research relevant at the regional and global levels, complementing the project-based funding model.' What we see in the budget is that this promise has not been fulfilled, and one must ask what vision for the country lies behind this decision,‘ stated Rector Devés.
For his part, the rector of the Catholic University, Ignacio Sánchez, stated that “we have been surprised that the increases resulting from the new University Research Fund, which we consider very appropriate, also reduce or decrease contributions to the Research Fund through the FONDEQUIP fund for new scientific and technological equipment implementation. We believe this is inappropriate because it is disrupting a long-standing competition that universities rely on for their technological implementation.”.
The competitive fund for technological equipment (FONDEQUIP) shows a significant decrease, of 36,87%, equivalent to M$5,894,303. In this sense, when considering all the budget lines directed to higher education, a compensation of resources is observed, instead of a real increase.
Given this scenario, "we ask that any increase in the science budget not be, of course, at the expense of competitions that are already established," said Rector Sánchez.
Finally, Rodríguez stated that “if Chile wants to make a qualitative leap in competitiveness in the coming years, the key is to invest in research, development, innovation, strengthening existing programs, creating new programs, but without neglecting existing ones, and this commitment will have consequences in the medium and long term.”.
Other concerns of the CRUCH
Regarding the budget for Higher Education, the executive vice president of the Council emphasized that “ultimately, it has no additional commitment to strengthening the institutions of the CRUCH universities, which are those institutions that have a strong public vocation and some of them are also part of the patrimony of the State of Chile.”.
Along the same lines, Rector Ignacio Sánchez emphasized that “there is a complete stagnation of the Higher Education budget. We, from the universities, understand that the country is going through a complex situation, but we also understand that the priority of investing in science and education, at all levels, should always be very high in government planning and proposals, because if a State policy is on the path of persistent investment, however small it may be, that increase will accumulate, and what we see is that, more than an increase, it is a standstill, which we find serious.”.
According to Rodríguez, “what this budget does is strengthen a demand-based financing model,” adding that “some signs of strengthening research and institutions were expected, but these do not exist, and of course, they leave the system in a situation of not having enough support to face the challenges that society implies in the current terms.”.
CRUCH proposals
The Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) believes it is necessary to reject the current proposal in order to introduce modifications that will allow the budget to be adjusted to the strategic challenges facing the nation and the higher education system. Rather than additional resources, a restructuring is proposed that prioritizes investment in research and development, inclusion policies, and the strengthening of institutional capacities, while guaranteeing the continuity of essential functions.
This proposal aims to raise the limits on the use of surplus funds from the University Solidarity Credit Fund (FSCU) to 45% of the annual flow and 50% of accumulated surpluses, allowing universities to address additional obligations, such as infrastructure and mental health. This expansion does not require new contributions from the State, as these are the universities' own funds.
On the other hand, it is recommended that the Institutional Development Fund once again be exclusively for non-state universities belonging to the CRUCH (Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities), in recognition of their public role. Currently, the fund is competitive and open to all non-state institutions.
In this context, the rector of the Catholic University, Ignacio Sánchez, explained that “we understand that the State has to support its institutions, we have always been very much in agreement with this, however, we also believe and agree that this support should never be at the expense of traditional universities which, without belonging to the State, are carrying out work in support of the development of public Higher Education for students, delivering new knowledge and generating new values for all communities, throughout Chile.”.
Finally, in relation to FONDEQUIP, it is proposed to replenish this fund, essential for the renewal of scientific and technological equipment, with reallocations that do not mean losses in the historical and essential funds for universities.
Text: CRUCH Communications.
Photo: Carlos Figueroa Rojas – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=137606610
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