UC Seeks Government for support in constitutional recognition of G9 Universities
In a meeting held at the Palacio de la Moneda, the rectors of the G9 Network delivered to President Boric a document that presents the reflections and contributions of the group regarding the new constitutional process underway.
This Tuesday, January 3, the rectors of the G9 Network of Non-State Public Universities met for the first time with the President of the Republic Gabriel Boric to discuss higher education, the challenges and opportunities posed by the new constituent process and the contributions of the network to rethink a new financing system for the higher education system as a whole. In a conversation that lasted for more than an hour, the rectors asked the country’s highest authority, the Minister of Education, Marco Antonio Avila, and the Undersecretary of Higher Education, Verónica Figueroa, the historical relevance of recognizing the G9 universities in the New Constitution and establishing a new deal from the Government with the institutions of the network.
The president of the G9 Network of Universities and rector of the U. de Concepción, Carlos Saavedra,He commented that the main objective of this meeting “was to express to him, from the nine universities that make up the network, which have contributed to the historical development of the university system in our country for more than a century, the willingness to continue contributing to the challenges that the State has, in the different areas that our institutions intervene. And, at the same time, to raise the interest of our houses of study that, in the new constitutional process that our country is going to experience, the document that we have prepared, Contributions for the constitutional process, can be considered, where you can find the proposal for regulations on higher education proposed by G9 universities”. In addition, Saavedra added,
“The main objective of this meeting was to express to you, from the nine universities that make up the network, which have contributed to the historical development of the university system in our country for more than a century, the willingness to continue contributing to the challenges that the State, in the different areas that our institutions intervene”- Carlos Saavedra, rector of U. de Concepción and president of G9.
Balance in delivery of resources
Regarding financing, the president of the G9 Network added that from the group “we have explained in detail how the G9 universities, from the recovery of democracy onwards, have been regressing significantly in institutional contributions from the State. Today, in terms of institutional resources, for every peso that the G9 universities receive, the state universities receive two and, therefore, we hope that in the future a correction can be generated in this matter, understanding that, if there is a greater investment in state universities, this must also be accompanied by an increase in investment in our institutions, given the territorial roots that we represent: we are present in eleven regions, twenty cities, with more than 161,000 undergraduate students, 12.
For his part, the rector of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and vice president of the G9, Ignacio Sánchez, explained having raised with President Boric the importance of increasing financial contributions from the Government to the institutions grouped in the G9 Network, “on the basis of emphasizing two aspects that Chile has had to experience in recent years and that our institutions they have demonstrated their very unique contribution: to issues such as social cohesion during the outbreak and mass vaccination measures in the pandemic. We have explained to the President that the university institutions are very difficult to build with their academic bodies, that they make an extraordinary contribution to the country and that this requires resources, therefore, there are glosses of contributions to the institutions that have been lost and the President promised to evaluate what those glosses have been and to what extent we can recover them ”.
In addition, Rector Sánchez added that the institutions of the network generate contributions that benefit the country and its inhabitants. “When you have this concept, the focus of the contribution that Rector Saavedra explained changes. Indeed, with the resources that we receive today as G9 institutions, a very significant contribution is made in teaching, in the creation of knowledge, in public contribution to the communities that we represent and, in this sense, I particularly value the dialogue that has taken place with the President, with the Minister and with the Undersecretary, in order to address the realities that we are experiencing today (…) we cannot continue to meet the needs that the country requires if we do not have a significant contribution from the State, because it is at State and the country we serve in terms of creating new knowledge”.
“We have explained to the President that the university institutions cost a lot to build with their academic bodies, that they make an extraordinary contribution to the country and that this requires resources, therefore, there are glosses of contribution to the institutions that have been lost and the President He undertook to evaluate what those glosses have been and to what extent we can recover them” – Ignacio Sánchez, Rector of the Catholic University and G9 Vice President.
Rector Ignacio Sánchez particularly valued the dialogue that has taken place with the President, the Minister and the Undersecretary, in order to address the realities that G9 universities are experiencing today. Credits: Cesar Cortes.
Recognition of the public role of G9 universities
The rectors of the G9 Universities evaluated as positive the reception of President Boric to the recognition of the public role of the institutions that make up the network, so that it is contemplated in the new constituent process. “The President has understood very well and has said so regarding the recognition of our universities, which we have historically contributed to the development of higher education and, in this sense, he promised not to be detrimental to the G9 universities and that, understanding his government plan and support for state universities, we as traditional universities do deserve to have that treatment that allows us to continue developing our educational project. We generate 50% of scientific production, therefore,Cristhian Mellado, rector of the Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción and vice president of the G9 .
“The President (…) promised not to be detrimental to the G9 universities and that, understanding his government plan and support for state universities, we as traditional universities do deserve to have that treatment that allows us to continue developing our educational project”- Cristhian Mellado, rector of U. Católica de la Santísima Concepción and vice president G9.
The President of the Republic Gabriel Boric participated in this meeting; the Minister of Education, Marco Antonio Ávila; the Undersecretary of Higher Education, Verónica Figueroa Huencho; the president of the G9 Network and rector of the UdeC, Carlos Saavedra; the vice presidents of the G9 Network, rectors Ignacio Sánchez of the UC and Cristhian Mellado of the UCSC; the rector of the PUCV, Nelson Vásquez; the rector of the USM, Juan Yuz; the rector of the UACh, Hans Richter; the rector of the UCM, Claudio Rojas and the rector of the UCT, Aliro Bórquez.