President Piñera outlined details of the GANE Plan at a meeting with the Council of Rectors

11/07/2011
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Representatives of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) appreciated that the president had placed the issue of higher education at the highest national level and made a proposal to the country through a national broadcast. At least half of the additional US$4 billion from the Agreement will be allocated to higher education.

The executive committee of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) held a nearly two-hour meeting with the President of the Republic, Sebastián Piñera, at the La Moneda Palace, to learn details of the Great National Agreement for Education (GANE) proposed by the president.

Among other points, President Piñera specified the timelines for the implementation of the bills that are part of this plan, assuring that they will be under parliamentary debate no later than November of this year, beginning in July with the initiative that will redefine the State-Guaranteed Student Loan "so that it reaches 41% of the interest rate and that a commission of experts will be created from there." The bills related to the Undersecretariat and Superintendency of Higher Education would be submitted in August.
At the end of the meeting, the executive vice president of CRUCH, Rector Víctor Pérez, highlighted that “we agree with the President that this issue must be viewed with urgency, realism and a vision for the future and, in that sense, we believe that progress has been made.”.
He added that the Council appreciates that the President “has accepted our proposal to bring transparency to the system through a Superintendency of Higher Education. We believe that this body will guarantee that universities are now non-profit corporations. We, as the Council of Rectors, have proposed that the law be upheld; and that it has been considered that traditional universities, and especially state universities, should have access to core funding to ensure their sustainability.”.
“We, as the Executive Committee of the Council of Rectors, will resume dialogue with the Ministry of Education, with the aim of continuing to refine issues where progress is needed. There are student financing situations that need improvement.”.
For his part, the rector of the Catholic University, Ignacio Sánchez, praised President Piñera's speech, stating that support for student financing will help thousands of families who are struggling with student loans.