This Wednesday, July 13, the rector of UDELAR, Rodrigo Arim, appeared before the Finance and Budget Commission of Deputies that analyzes the government’s accountability.
Arim told the press that in the current Rendering of Accounts, the increase in resources is zero for new programs at the Hospital de Clínicas, care for students entering UDELAR, and the development of new spaces for research throughout the country, which would be around 300 million pesos. “Although we are convinced that this will change in the parliamentary discussion.”
He clarified that in the five-year Budget there are items allocated for each of the years, until the end of the period.
Arim outlined the priorities of UDELAR towards the end of the five-year period. He stressed that there is a commitment by legislators not to vote for the elimination of the additional Solidarity Fund, which is raised in the Rendering of Accounts, without full compensation processes for the resources that the University would lose, which represents about 15 million of dollars.
“We have a set of good news that has to do with the increase in enrollment of about 5,000 students per year. Hence the need for incremental resources,” said Arim.
Regarding research, he stated that the postgraduate system does not have clear spaces or they are relatively few. “We ask for resources to make calls in different areas of knowledge so that young students can develop their capacity and creativity in Uruguay.”
He added that the demand for scholarships has grown more than the response capacity of UDELAR and this is also an area to study. Likewise, Arim requested that the reality of the Hospital de Clínicas be taken into account.
He warned that next year new careers will be opened, and that other issues raised refer to the salary reality of civil servants and teachers.
Impairment of 7.5% in real terms
For his part, the deputy of the Broad Front, Gustavo Olmos, told the Minister of Education and Culture, Pablo da Silveira, that “comparing the allocation of resources to UDELAR with 2020 hides the cuts made by this government compared to 2019.”
“Without incremental improvements in Accountability, the University will end the five-year period with a drop of 7.5% in real terms. The 2020+2021 cut was already 38 million dollars”, denounced the legislator.
He added that resource allocation is a continuum and the starting point for comparison is arbitrary. “The reality is that, after years of increasing the university budget, which allowed territorial expansion and in careers, in this period the deterioration will be 7.5% in real terms.”
For its part, the University Intergremial – made up of the Association of Teachers of the University of the Republic (ADUR), civil servants (AFFUR), students (FEUU) and the Union of Workers of the Hospital de Clínicas (UTHC) – concentrated in the surroundings of the Legislative Palace in defense of the university budget.
They demand “a fair and decent budget for the great majority.”
