The rectors of the universities of Los Andes, the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and La Sabana, in Bogotá, and the Eafit University, in Medellín, made an important call to the government of President Gustavo Petro and the Congress of the Republic to change and strengthen some. essential element of education reform.
Nor have they established mechanisms to guarantee the right to education in a changing environment.
For this reason, and with the aim of continuing to contribute to the collective construction of a flexible and mixed educational model that responds to these challenges, the rectors request that the following elements be modified and strengthened.
Strengthening the quality of the use of the right and public services in education
They warn that, for this purpose, it is necessary – from the statutory law – to lay the foundations for the identification of internal institutional quality assurance systems, expressed in national systems of various subsystems that are part of post-media education, with international. references..
Recognition of the right to post-secondary education
On the other hand, the rectors indicated that, despite the calls made to the Ministry of National Education to regulate the right to post-secondary education, the draft statutory law recognizes a higher education as the only means of training.
This understanding, according to the rectors, limits the freedom of choice, as well as the possibilities of development of young people and citizens, who must undertake lifelong education.
They point out that the State must ensure adequate coordination between the different qualification paths: education, training for work, comprehensive vocational training, flexible short-cycle training, and recognition of early learning and knowledge.
The rectors emphasized that the State has made progress in the regulations, which were approved before this bill, to recognize the different paths of qualification, as legitimate mechanisms through which people can build the their training and/or professional trajectories, which enable different institutions, including Sena, to offer different programs that adapt to local reality and social, economic and ethnic diversity, etc.
Consequently, they emphasize that the inclusion of the concept of post-secondary education in a rule of law will strengthen this diversity for the guarantee of the right.
Therefore, it is necessary to modify as relevant the draft statutory law presented by the Ministry of National Education, so that a mixed system of post-secondary education is integrated that expresses the different paths of training and improves the possibilities for the development and welfare of the people..
Recognizing the importance of a mixed system of progressive rights guarantees
Similarly, the rectors of the universities of Los Andes, the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and La Sabana, in Bogotá, and the Eafit University, in Medellín, point out that while it is necessary to establish a post-media education system, the importance of mixed character.
They pointed out that all actors are needed to advance the progressive guarantee of the right to education as it has been until now, as well as to avoid the repetition of the right; Therefore, it is important to adopt mechanisms that strengthen public, private and mixed actors.
In addition, the system should be based on the recognition of pluralism in education and the freedom of each person to follow the educational path of the institution of their choice.
Likewise, they point out that there must be recognition of the favorable environment for the development of all educational subsystems, by allowing mixed provision, where there are stimuli from and to each of the public and private actors, favoring their own evolution.
Guidelines for a comprehensive financial system
Finally, the rectors confirmed that the structuring of a comprehensive financial system that allows the participation of the country, territorial entities and other state entities, as well as private institutions and individuals , it may be possible to consolidate a plural offer of post-secondary education. .
The rectors ensure that the strengthening of financing must be aimed at ensuring that each person can develop their training path in any of the training paths of the system, whether in public, private or mixed institutions.
On the other hand, they determined that it is not possible to improve equity without a joint plan of public and private resources, well allocated based on intelligent targeting.
A comprehensive financing system allows for the best distribution of financial and operational resources to use the objectives to fulfill the guarantee of the right to education.
In that sense, they call on the national government and the Congress of the Republic “so that they do not waste this opportunity.”
“We reiterate the need to jointly build a pluralistic, inclusive, fair, modern, relevant and sustainable education system, which allows us to guarantee the progressive access of all people to quality education,” they stated .
Those who signed the statement are: Raquel Bernal Salazar, rector of the Universidad de los Andes; Claudia Restrepo Montoya, rector of Eafit University; Luis Fernando Múnera Congote, rector of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, and Rolando Roncancio Rachid, rector of the University of La Sabana.
