Rectors of the SUE call on the National Government

State University System (SUE) Press Release

Our country is facing one of the most difficult moments in its history: the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which continues to claim lives and significantly impact both the healthcare system and the economy. Adding to this situation, widespread social mobilization has brought to the forefront significant discontent, especially among young people who are demanding education, employment, cultural opportunities, and a better future. Amid these protests, polarization and violence have emerged as the same old tactics that fracture the social fabric and undermine the path to peace and the long-awaited national reconciliation.

In this context, the rectors of the State University System (SUE) make a fraternal appeal to all social sectors and the national government to reaffirm and strengthen the various dialogue scenarios that have emerged amidst the social protest, so that the voices and proposals of the protesters and young people receive concrete responses through clear and effective State policies.

One of the central demands of the young people who have mobilized peacefully refers to strengthening education as the most direct path to improving citizens' quality of life. The SUE (National System of Higher Education) has worked diligently to guarantee quality public higher education as a fundamental right of all Colombians, and in this regard, it calls attention to the following points:

• We request that the Congress of the Republic consider the arguments we outlined in the concept prepared by the SUE in October 2020, in which we extensively explained the reasons justifying the inappropriateness of Senate Bill No. 195 of 2019: “By means of which institutes and research centers recognized by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation will be authorized to obtain qualified registration of master's and doctoral academic programs and other provisions are dictated.” If this bill is approved, it would disregard the efforts that universities make to maintain the accreditation and reaccreditation of their programs, and would also grant differential treatment that places universities at a disadvantage, failing to compensate for the academic, administrative, and financial efforts required for the accreditation of undergraduate and especially postgraduate programs.
• Reforms to Articles 86 and 87 of Law 30 on Higher Education are urgently and as a priority, in order to guarantee the financial sustainability of public universities, ensuring that national transfers correspond to the institutions' operating costs and recognizing the impacts of Decree 1279. The SUE will submit a bill in this direction seeking broad consensus among different actors, the MEN, and taking into account the contributions of the Public Technical, Technological, and University Institutions (ITTU).
• It is essential to review the Publindex model for measuring research groups, researchers, and classifying journals, so that priority is given to promoting and strengthening research in the country in order to sustain the good results in quality indicators that universities have achieved in accreditation processes with arduous efforts, amidst great difficulties.
• A review of the new regulations governing the quality assurance system is required, particularly those contained in Resolution 21795 of November 2020, which establishes the parameters for self-evaluation, verification, and assessment of program quality conditions for obtaining and renewing qualified registrations. This is because it encompasses profound structural changes that may disregard the plurality of curricular conceptions developed in the country within the framework of autonomy. The transitional provision included in the regulation is confusing and, in practice, implies the immediate implementation of learning outcomes, generating a worrying return of qualified registrations that could jeopardize the academic offerings currently provided by universities.
• The SUE will request an extension of the deadline for the Saber Pro tests, given the various difficulties that have arisen as a result of the pandemic.

We insist on the construction of State policies that strengthen public higher education and academic quality in order to improve the training processes that universities carry out in the areas of teaching, research and social outreach.

Council of Rectors.

State University System (SUE). June 24, 2021

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