In an effort to make visible the difficult financial situation of the country’s public universities, the rector of the Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS), Hernán Porras Díaz, participated in a key meeting with the Comptroller General of the Republic, Carlos Hernán Rodríguez. The purpose of the meeting was to directly expose the difficulties related to pension concurrence and defunding that affect these higher education institutions.
The meeting was also attended by Guillermo Murillo Vargas, rector of Universidad del Valle; Andrés Felipe Mora, vice-rector general of Universidad Nacional; Diana Martínez, director of Human Resources of Universidad de Antioquia; Andrés Bastidas, head of the Contracting Division of Universidad del Valle and, accompanying the Comptroller General and representing the national watchdog, Jaime Escobar, administrative and financial manager; Elisabeth Monsalve Camacho, human resources manager and Doris Nohemí Pizarro, private secretary of the CGR.
During the meeting, university representatives explained how the lack of resources has impacted the normal functioning of the institutions, putting at risk the stability of academic programs, the wellbeing of the university community and the fulfillment of financial obligations such as the pensions of teaching and administrative staff. Pension concurrence, a commitment that involves both universities and the State, has become a critical factor that compromises the financial sustainability of higher education institutions.
The rector of the UIS, Hernán Porras Díaz, thanked the comptroller “for having received us in the spirit of looking at the financial and budgetary structure of the country’s public universities; we have discussed several issues related to this fundamental topic for us”.
He added that, in order to move forward on this relevant issue, “the Comptroller’s Office is requesting more detailed information on the complaints – in quotation marks – that we, the rectors of the public universities, have made, with the aim of preparing a document that will be presented to the Ministry of Finance and thus be able to define how we can solve the structural problem of financing and budgeting of the public university in the country. Issues such as the concurrence of pension liabilities, the future financing around the reform of articles 86 and 87 of Law 30 of Public Higher Education that is being processed in the Congress of the Republic, among other issues”.
Regarding the issue, the Comptroller Carlos Hernán Rodríguez, in the second half of 2024 made a request to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education, about the reality of what is happening in the country in what would be called the ‘pension pump’, “that makes us in the universities prepare a document and take advantage of the interest of the Comptroller General, to come here to bring him first-hand information with the aim that together we can seek the construction of an effective solution for the stability of public universities, for the good of the country,” concluded the UIS rector.
This dialogue represents an important step in the search for solutions for the education sector, which faces significant challenges in terms of financing. It is expected that this meeting will generate concrete proposals to strengthen the public higher education system in Colombia.
