We are delivering on our promise to Education

Education at all levels, from early childhood to higher education, is everyone's responsibility, and that is why President Duque has given it priority in the government's social and economic agenda as a tool to build a more equitable and entrepreneurial society.

En este sentido, pasamos de tener un presupuesto de 38,5 billones en 2018 a 44,1 billones en 2020, siendo este el más alto de la historia. Estos recursos se acompañan de un trabajo riguroso para la implementación de proyectos que hoy nos permiten mostrar logros en primera infancia, alimentación y transporte escolar, infraestructura educativa, acompañamiento y dignificación de maestros y directivos, jornada única, doble titulación, educación rural, entornos escolares para la convivencia y la paz, la evaluación y el fortalecimiento de la educación superior con la democratización del acceso y el fomento a la calidad centrada en los aprendizajes.

Somos consientes de que, trazado el camino, hay que redoblar esfuerzos para generar oportunidades reales de equidad e inclusión; más que un programa de gobierno, debe ser un proyecto de país.

Focusing on the public agenda, we share in detail how we have progressed in higher education. Allocating more than 4.5 trillion pesos to strengthen public higher education has been a responsible and coherent commitment, resulting from dialogue and respect for dissent and the contributions of all sectors.

This effort, framed within the principles of quality and relevance, seeks to ensure that young people have complete academic pathways and successfully complete their studies, as well as to strengthen the quality of research, teaching, and outreach within the system. Since December 14th, when the “Dialogue Table for Building Agreements for Public Higher Education” was created, there have been 6 sessions and 56 additional meetings with the participation of entities from the National Government, the Ombudsman's Office, the Attorney General's Office, the Federation of Departments, the SUE (National System of Higher Education), public technical and technological institutions and universities, and student and faculty platforms.

In this regard, the 2018-2022 National Development Plan included the agreed-upon commitments and resources. Proof of this is that the disbursement and implementation began in 2019. An additional 1,445,124,520,0 ...

Adicionalmente, se avanza frente a la reforma del Sistema General de Regalías resaltando que ella incluye la destinación de recursos a la financiación de proyectos de inversión que contribuyan al desarrollo social, económico, educativo, científico y ambiental de las entidades territoriales.

También avanzamos en propuestas de ajuste de la medición de calidad de las revistas científicas; en la propuesta de reforma de Icetex, que se caracterizará por ser integral, incluyente, rigurosa, responsable y de cara a las expectativas de los usuarios, del sector y el país; el reconocimiento a las Instituciones de Educación Superior públicas del 100% del descuento por votación también hace curso en el Congreso. Respecto a los saldos apropiados no comprometidos, destinaremos $78.500 millones en 2020 para la investigación en las Instituciones de Educación Superior públicas y para programas o proyectos de Ciencia y Tecnología a través de Colciencias.

These achievements during President Duque's first year in office lay the foundation for strengthening higher education. The National Government respects the legitimate right to dissent and peaceful protest, but calls for consistency and recognition of the sector's progress as an act of responsibility to the country. Respectful and constructive dialogue has been the basis for progress, and the country expects all of us to focus on allocating resources, improving quality, offering more and better opportunities to young people in the regions, recognizing the work of our teachers, and, together with the new Ministry of Science and Technology, advancing scientific production and development.

Finally, the interest in transparency must be shared by everyone, not just a few groups; public resources are sacred, and in this sense, it will be the joint and determined work of the Government, administrators, teachers and students, citizens, and oversight bodies that must guarantee that this boost to higher education yields the results we all expect.

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