Brazil, Chile and Mexico share with Colombia their great bets on higher education

Bogotá, DC, June 14, 2024. In an outstanding panel, Brazil, Chile and Mexico shared their innovative strategies in higher education, where they provided valuable input for the “National Higher Education Agreement” in Colombia.

The panel moderated by the Vice Minister of Higher Education, Alejandro Álvarez Gallego, featured the participation of prominent figures from the Latin American educational sector such as Marcelo Bregagnoli, Secretary of Professional and Technological Education of Brazil; Víctor Orellana Calderón, Undersecretary of Higher Education of Chile and María José Rhi Sausi Garavito, director of the Evaluation and Accreditation System of Higher Education of Mexico.

“This Government has wanted to democratically build a new higher education project. We are in this task, which is important because it involves reaching agreements that reflect different interests and perspectives. It is not easy, but this Government is committed to achieving it so that it is a law that lasts over time. We have invited you, friendly countries, because we want to hear from you on three specific topics: first, the current challenges in higher education in your governments; second, the ongoing or projected reforms; and third, the rural education,” said Alejandro Álvarez Gallego, vice minister of Higher Education.

María José Rhi Sausi Garavito, director of the Evaluation and Accreditation System of Higher Education in Mexico, highlighted how her country is in a context of profound educational transformation. “For the first time, we have a General Education Law, enacted in 2019, and in 2021 the General Higher Education Law was approved. A significant effort was made with extensive consultation processes in which all voices were heard, recognizing diversity of our country to generate a comprehensive development of students. Priority has been given to interculturality, access to higher education in rural areas and an effort to strengthen dual education,” indicated the director.

For his part, Marcelo Bregagnoli, Secretary of Professional and Technological Education of Brazil, highlighted his country’s National Education Plan, with a comprehensive approach. “We work on the quality of technical and higher level courses, carrying out very precise evaluations of these programs. Since last year, we have approved the National Policy on Technical and Technological Education. Technical education has been evaluated under many criteria, and now We are doing a more cautious analysis for the delivery of diplomas,” explained Bregagnoli.

Finally, the Undersecretary of Higher Education of Chile, Víctor Orellana Calderón, recognized the effort involved in a process of change and transformation of higher education. “These issues have to go beyond the programmatic aspects of the government and State policies, otherwise they are not sustainable over time,” he recommended.

The four academic meetings organized by the Vice Ministry of Higher Education, with the participation of prominent local and foreign experts, have enriched the dialogue and provided valuable knowledge to the participants of the Territorial Thematic Roundtables and to the members who will consolidate the “National Agreement for Education Superior”.

It is important to highlight that the Table of the National Agreement for Higher Education was installed in Bogotá on May 24 of this year, which marked the third phase of efforts to transform the higher education system in Colombia. In this work route, meetings have been held related to the challenges of quality and relevance, governance and well-being in higher education that will be part of the axes that will consolidate the great National Agreement.

As a preliminary result, the need to specify contextual elements to academically offer programs with greater quality and relevance at the territorial level has been emphasized. This requires understanding the dynamics of the context and promoting a dialogue of actors that allows us to strengthen higher education taking into account the territorial and differential ethnic approach, given the cultural diversity of our country.

To this end, governance, government + governability, is sized as an exercise that expands and enhances the channels of participation to consolidate the collective nature of decision-making in pursuit of the common good.

Likewise, the well-being of educational communities is another of the challenges to be taken into account in the National Agreement given that the conditions of access and permanence must be guaranteed for all students, regardless of their place of origin, their economic conditions, cultural and social. Additionally, well-being must extend to other members of the communities and implies an important effort to coordinate with teaching, research, social projection and extension, as well as with the different sectors of culture, sports, health, among others.

On June 20 and 21, a new session will be held, in which the challenge of teacher dignity will be addressed, and on June 26 and 27, the last and sixth session will be held with the financing challenge.

This collective work, supported by diverse voices of students, indigenous communities, Afro-descendants, academies, associations of higher education institutions, representatives of people with disabilities, victims, directors of HEIs, businessmen, unions, advisory bodies, ministries and experts, seeks convert higher education into an essential pillar for social development and peace in the country.

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