“We are not asking for increases, we are simply asking that the budget base that was approved in 2026 be maintained for 2027.”

The Council's executive vice president, Osvaldo Corrales, called for reversing the cuts in higher education and science, and warned about their effects on the capabilities that the country has built over decades.

The organization requested a meeting with the finance minister and is holding talks with representatives of Parliament and the Government to address its proposals during the budget discussion.

Maintaining the 2026 budget allocation for higher education and science, technology, knowledge, and innovation through 2027 is the request of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) in response to the government's proposed cuts. At a press conference held in Valparaíso, the Council's executive vice president, Rector Osvaldo Corrales, warned that these reductions could weaken the scientific and academic capabilities that the country has taken decades to build. 

“We are not asking for increases, we are simply asking that the budget base that was approved in 2026 be maintained for 2027,” he stated.

Corrales maintained that the rejection of both budget allocations presents an opportunity for dialogue and expressed CRUCH's willingness to move forward with an agenda to modernize higher education. However, he noted that this work requires the Executive Branch to reconsider the cuts.

“As the Council of Rectors and Rectors, we want to advance an agenda of modernization in Higher Education, but we believe that for this to be effective, we need the Government to take a step back from these cuts,” he stated.

A look at the entire education system

The executive vice president questioned the argument that the reductions would allow for prioritizing early childhood and the first years of education. He explained that the Council understands education as a complete cycle, whose different stages must be strengthened.

“We do not believe that strengthening early childhood education requires weakening higher education,” he said.

He also linked university and scientific funding to development goals that CRUCH shares with the government, such as strengthening the productive sector and expanding the contribution of innovation and technology transfer to addressing the country's challenges. In his view, advancing these goals requires preserving higher education and science budgets.

Corrales also maintained that the cuts do not substantially affect the national budget, but they could weaken scientific and academic capabilities. In that regard, he warned that reducing a science, technology, knowledge, and innovation budget, which he described as "quite modest," jeopardizes capabilities built up over decades.

Request for a hearing with the Treasury

In the context of the legislative debate, the CRUCH (Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities) requested a meeting with the Minister of Finance to present its arguments and is awaiting a response. Corrales explained that, after speaking with the Minister of Science, the Council identifies the Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office as key interlocutors at this stage.

He clarified that the request "does not seek to favor institutions" and responds to "a national perspective," oriented towards its present and future development.

Along with this request, the Council is holding talks with members of parliament and government authorities to promote a review of the cuts during the processing of the 2027 Budget Bill.

Text: CRUCH Communications

Journalistic support: UV Rector's Office Communications