The initiative, in which he is working together with his peers, aims to achieve a contribution from the provincial State in order to mitigate the impact that public universities, based in the province of Entre Ríos, are suffering as a result of the removal of the subsidy. to the electricity rate applied by the national government.
In this way, the National University of Entre Ríos (UNER), the National Technological University (UTN) and the Autonomous University of Entre Ríos (Uader) would have a 30% reduction on their electricity bills.
“Free, quality public education is a universal right and a public and social good, which cannot and should not be measured in terms of profitability,” said the senator.
In this framework, he mentioned the educator José Benjamín Zubiaur (1856-1921) who was rector of the Colegio del Uruguay and first president of the Educational Association “La Fraternidad”, who maintained that only the State, “which is the result of all the forces social, can organize a teaching that does not offend any conscience and that embraces all spirits in its bosom, nor responds to a purpose of profit, a sentiment so antipodal to its elevated function.
According to the Higher Education Law, the national State is responsible for providing financing, supervision and oversight of national universities, but this is precisely what is not happening in the case of UTN and UNER, and therein lies the need for the proposed assistance. As for the Uader, which is in charge of the jurisdiction, it will also mean relief in its finances.
The bill states that the contribution to universities of a percentage of the cost of their electricity bills will be made on a temporary basis, and until the subsidy that was eliminated by Javier Milei’s government is restored.
“The enormous increases in electricity bills in recent months, which are added to the reduction of subsidies and budget cuts to universities ordered by the national government, have caused uncertainty about the normal functioning of these Study Houses,” he said. Olive. The decision of the National Executive Branch to extend the 2023 budget places the National Universities in a critical economic situation to such an extent that, without a budget expansion, university financing would register its lowest level since records have been recorded (1997).
As a summary, some of the problems they are suffering are: lack of joint agreements to the detriment of the purchasing power of workers; the deterioration of the scientific, technological and innovation system; the total suspension of scientific and university infrastructure works in progress; the failure to update operating expenses; the non-renewal of national scholarship systems and the elimination of the National Teaching Incentive Fund (FONID), among others.
“Public universities are highly valued in Argentine society, not only for their training task, but also for their task in the construction of knowledge, for the transfer to the world of production and work, to society in general, for the outreach tasks and solidarity with the most neglected sectors,” said the Uruguayan senator.
“We find the proposal timely so that, from the Entre Ríos legislature, we can ratify the importance of having public education among the priorities, prioritizing its budget allocation, to be able to continue providing a quality service, without tariffs and with free admission” , Oliva pointed out.
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