Council of Rectors rejects recurring disparaging remarks by the Minister of Education

The statements made by the Minister of Education, Harald Beyer, in recent days and which have been recurring in recent months, directed against the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH), compel us to express our strongest condemnation. These statements disrespect and undermine the prestige, dignity, and independence of CRUCH with respect to institutional decisions on various academic matters that it has adopted in the exercise of its autonomy and in accordance with its public mission established by the law that created it in 1954.

The Minister has crossed the line of civic respect and a willingness to work together, conduct undoubtedly unbecoming of a public official of ministerial rank. Ministers of State in democratic societies should not and cannot call for challenging institutions of higher education. Nor is it appropriate for him to irresponsibly assert that “the university admissions system is madness.” To say, in turn, that our institutions “are barely accountable” and that they “challenge us in the effective use of public resources” constitutes an attack that we consider slanderous and unfounded.

The Council of Rectors must not and cannot tolerate the repetition of this type of behavior, and should it be repeated in the future, we declare from the outset that it will be very difficult to work together with the current Minister. For this same reason, we call for looking beyond the current political situation and maintaining a respectful relationship focused on the improvement and development of higher education in the country.