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Executive Vice President Emilio Rodríguez stated that the Council of Rectors has a proposal "that is fundamentally aligned with what the Ministry is thinking, and what we are going to do is work together to present a harmonized proposal.".
For his part, the Undersecretary of Higher Education stated that "we have reached a convergent approach that prioritizes the needs of the country and raises the need for a comprehensive policy for the modernization of initial teacher training.".
In its role as an advisory body for public policies in higher education, the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) will coordinate with the Undersecretariat of Higher Education to contribute to the drafting of the bill that updates the requirements for Pedagogy degrees, committed to March 2025.
“Today, CRUCH made an important commitment to society, regarding assuming a relevant role as an advisor on public policy and, particularly in this case, on legislation related to admission requirements in the field of pedagogy,” emphasized the executive vice president and rector of the University of Tarapacá, Emilio Rodríguez, during the Council session this Thursday, January 16, in Arica.
“We have a proposal that aligns, in its fundamental aspects, with what the Ministry is considering, and what we will do is work together to present a harmonized proposal,” Rodríguez pointed out. To that end, “we have a commission of two male and one female university rectors who have been developing a proposal based on prior work involving all the Faculties of Education in the country,” he added.
In this regard, the Undersecretary of Higher Education, Víctor Orellana, who was present at the session, stated that «we have reached a convergent proposal that prioritizes the needs of the country and establishes the need for a comprehensive policy to modernize initial teacher training. In this sense, the Council of Rectors plays a key role as an advisory body in the development of public policy. We hope to work together on an agreement in the coming days to implement these much-needed changes for the country.».
The CRUCH commission, which will coordinate with the undersecretary in the coming days, is made up of the rector of the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences (UMCE), Elisa Araya; the rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUCV), Nelson Vásquez; and the rector of the University of Playa Ancha, Carlos González.
CRUCH proposal acknowledges the complexity of teaching work
“The CRUCH made a very important decision today, which is to move forward together with the Undersecretary of Higher Education in generating a bill that will be sent to the National Congress to comprehensively address issues related to pedagogy, initial training, early detection of teachers' vocations and subsequent training pathways,” stated Rector Vásquez.
He added that “the discussion was very significant because it addressed in depth all the issues that currently affect the professional development of teachers in the school system. It also addressed the responsibility we have as CRUCH universities to generate high-quality initial teacher training that is relevant to the needs of the different regions and, of course, the urgent need to create programs to attract young people who want to study teaching in our country.”.
Rector González agreed with this perspective and stated, “We are very pleased with today’s meeting because all the rectors are very aware of the national problem in education, which is related to the lack of teachers and means that universities are training fewer professors. Therefore, we must assume responsibility at the national level.”.
For her part, Rector Araya explained that the CRUCH proposal “acknowledges the complexity of teaching, not focusing on a single point, such as admission criteria, but rather broadening the discussion to different levels of depth.” One of these areas is admission to teacher training programs, regarding which “we are considering, on the one hand, standardizing application or admission requirements, as other programs do, or granting certain powers to the Ministry of Education's Admissions Committee so that it can contextually assess what conditions we establish for admission to teacher training programs.”.
The proposal also addresses training at its various stages: initial training, support for training pathways, and continuing professional development. “It is a complex proposal that broadens and deepens the reflection we are having as a country on initial teacher training,” explained Rector Araya.
I work with the undersecretary
Rector Carlos González indicated that CRUCH can contribute significantly, since in recent years it has worked steadily – through the Commission on Pedagogies – to contribute to strengthening teacher training, as evidenced in the report. “Teaching Changes Lives”. The document, which identifies critical issues and proposes concrete actions, was delivered to the Ministry of Education in March 2024.
Meanwhile, the rector of PUCV, Nelson Vásquez, highlighted that "the undersecretary is willing to work together and next week we will progressively address the different issues of the future bill.".
Regarding the outcome, he expressed optimism. “I have no doubt that with political will, with the knowledge that universities possess, but above all, with the capacity to generate and comprehensively address the complexity of teacher training, a bill will emerge that allows us to address all aspects of teacher training within the school system,” concluded Rector Vásquez.
The decision to postpone for the last time the entry into force of article 27 bis of Law 20.129 was approved on December 18, 2024 by the Joint Commission -during the discussion of the public sector readjustment project-, within the framework of a protocol that stipulates that the Executive must present no later than March 2025 “a project to update the requirements for the Pedagogy career, which will incorporate measures to attract pedagogical talent”.
Text: CRUCH Communications
Photos: Courtesy of the University of Tarapacá
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