The Official Gazette published an official letter from the Ministry of Education (Mineduc) in which it announced the end of the Advisory Council for Higher Education, created in 2021 during the Government of Sebastián Piñera and which had a current budget. The publication evidenced the revocation of decree No. 74 – which established its creation – detailing that the body will be replaced by “another consultative and advisory body.”
“That, in accordance with the programmatic lines of the current government, the aforementioned council will be replaced by another consultative and advisory body, due to which it is necessary to revoke the decree that created it, putting an end to the Advisory Council,” reads the statement. publication. A decision that was taken with “surprise” by rectors of different universities, such as Ignacio Sánchez (U. Católica), Federico Valdés (U. del Desarrollo) and Cristián Nazer (U. Finis Terrae), who were critical of not being consulted, while from the Mineduc they assured that they are building “efficient mechanisms” to relate to the houses of studies.
However, in conversation with The counterthe rector of the University of Concepción and president of the Network of Non-State Public Universities G9, Carlos Saavedra, declared himself in favor of the decision, considering that “the Ministry of Education and the Undersecretary of Higher Education, in the exercise of their attributions, they can adopt the decisions that allow them to have the most efficient and effective advisory and consultation instances for the best fulfillment of the obligations for which they are mandated”.
“From this perspective, it seems to us that the general coordination in matters of Higher Education can be better articulated through the components of this system: universities, institutes and technical training centers. In particular, the Council of Rectors (CRUCH) is the body that by law must ensure the development of higher education and, from this perspective, the aforementioned Advisory Council had a conflict of powers with the CRUCH,” he added.
