News
Before the Fourth Joint Subcommittee on Budgets, Rector Juan Yuz, representing the Council, requested that the Ministry's proposal for 2027 be rejected and that at least the originally allocated resources be restored. approved for 2026.
The CRUCH warned that the reductions in the Science and Education budgets amount to approximately 144 million less for the university system.
During the discussion of the 2027 Science budget in the Fourth Joint Budget Subcommittee of Congress, the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) warned that the real reduction of the 10% with respect to the resources initially approved for 2026 puts at risk capacities built over decades by universities and the State, with consequences for the country's ability to respond to its challenges and sustain its development.
The proposals were presented Wednesday, October 21stor the rector of the Federico Santa María Technical University, Juan Yuz, who, representing CRUCH, requested the rejection of the budget proposal of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation for 2027 and the restoration, at least, of the resources originally approved for 2026.
“We respectfully request that this commission reject the ministry's budget allocation, as we firmly believe that it is necessary to at least maintain the resources allocated for 2026. In particular, we believe that the resources associated with the instruments that allow us to sustain research and technology transfer activity in the university system, such as FONDEQUIP, FONDEF, FIU, national scholarships, and the researcher placement program, must be maintained,” Yuz stated.
Therefore, the rector continued, “I invite the Commission and this entire Parliament to value and protect what we have achieved as a country through research and innovation, primarily through the work of our universities. And I am not referring to scientific productivity in publications or projects, or to the position of our universities in rankings; I am referring to the social and economic impact and the concrete results produced by years of work and research.”.
Where the reduction is concentrated
According to the CRUCH analysis, prepared from background information from the Budget Directorate (DIPRES), the decrease reaches $60,357 million with respect to the budget initially approved for 2026, equivalent to 10%, expressed in 2027 currency.
Among the most affected instruments is FONDEQUIP, earmarked for scientific equipment, with a decrease of 78.71% compared to the adjusted budget, according to figures published by the Budget Directorate (DIPRES). The Council warned that this reduction could delay equipment renewal and limit research requiring specialized infrastructure, especially in institutions with fewer resources to finance these acquisitions.
FONDEF, which links applied research with social, environmental, productive, and territorial needs, has seen a reduction of 17.51 TP3T. This is in addition to cuts of 31.91 TP3T in Structural R&D&I Financing (FIU), 51 TP3T in national postgraduate scholarships, and 37.91 TP3T in researcher placement programs.
While the Council valued the safeguarding of FONDECYT and the recovery of the Science 2030, Engineering 2030 and Knowledge 2030 programs, it stressed that the instruments fulfill different and complementary functions, so the increases in some do not compensate for the reductions in others.
Science and education: combined effects on research
The CRUCH also requested an analysis of these reductions in conjunction with the cuts to core and institutional funding included in the Ministry of Education's budget. Their cumulative effect could jeopardize both scientific projects and the academic teams, laboratories, and infrastructure necessary to carry them out, by simultaneously reducing the resources allocated to research and those that sustain the conditions for conducting it.
“We are concerned that when looking at the budget law as a whole, the reductions in this ministry are combined with the allocations from the Ministry of Education, specifically item 09, which this same committee discussed on October 7th (…). Between the reductions in both ministries, we are talking about approximately 80 billion pesos, less funding for the university system.”.
In this context, the presentation highlighted the contribution of universities, noting that they generate around 77% of the national scientific production and train more than 90% of the country's new PhDs.
“We have multiple examples of this. We could mention the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunization program, the National Tsunami Warning System currently used by SHOA, or the projects that have enabled the export of copper, salmon, and fruit. (…) There are many more examples like these, and even more work and research is underway today that could certainly translate into social and economic benefits for the country if we manage to sustain and support them with resources continuously over time,” Yuz stated.
In this context, the Council's position is that public investment in science must be approached with a long-term perspective, as it sustains capacities built over decades and opens opportunities for new research and innovation initiatives. Therefore, it called for increased funding to support knowledge generation and the training of researchers, as a fundamental contribution to the development of Chile and its regions.
Text: CRUCH Communications
Spanish 
English