This Monday, April 15, the Plenary of the House of Representatives approved in a second debate the educational reform proposed by the government of President Gustavo Petro, under the title “draft statutory law that seeks to regulate the right to education and dictate other provisions.” ”.
Among the approved items are:
- Expansion of the right to initial education, which includes progressive access to the three grades of preschool (pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and transition).
- Mandatory in secondary education (grades 10 and 11).
- Higher education is recognized as a fundamental right.
Furthermore, the approved articles incorporate the fundamental principles of the right to education according to the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court, as well as the responsibilities of all the actors involved in its guarantee. Following this decision, the bill now advances to its third debate in the First Committee of the Senate. Unlike other Government reforms, this project has achieved greater consensus in the legislative field.
The educational reform project aims to ensure the right to education from early childhood, reinforce education in rural areas and for historically marginalized communities, including indigenous people, peasants and Afro-descendant communities. In addition, it seeks to dignify the teaching profession and address other key issues.
And this project has generated criticism from experts and institutions in the sector, who express concerns about its content and scope. With its upcoming approval in the Lower House and its subsequent passage to the First Committee of the Senate, it is crucial to examine in detail the objections raised by these actors.
On the subject, the Colombian Association of Universities (Ascun) highlights that education must be considered as a “common” good, not a “social” one, to avoid restrictions on the growth of private education, contrary to what is established in article 68 of the Constitution and suggesting changes in educational governance.
Diego Mazo, rector of the CEIPA institution and expert in education, points out that if education is considered a fundamental right, it is necessary to delve into the scope of progressivity to guarantee it, since it is incoherent to affirm that all Colombians will have access to Education will develop progressively and gradually.
“The text does not specify the criteria for applying said progressivity nor the financial means of how it will be carried out and other requirements necessary to comply with the commitments of the law. Furthermore, there is no clarity on how to finance an educational system in which private institutions also participate, since the capacity of public institutions is not sufficient to meet the demand of Colombians who require education,” Mazo pointed out.
Likewise, it emphasizes the need to strengthen the mixed education system to guarantee this right, sinceThe bill is not clear regarding the powers and obligations of the State in relation to public and private institutions. “This implies not only addressing financing and free education in public institutions, but also the role that private institutions play in guaranteeing the right to education at all levels,” said Diego Mazo.
Ascun suggests that some articles of the educational reform should be treated as ordinary laws rather than statutory laws. According to Ascun, statutory legislation should be limited to the essential core of fundamental rights, as established by the Constitutional Court, covering only articles 1 to 14, along with valid and repealing provisions. This is because they consider that other articles of the reform focus on territorial aspects and educational levels without sufficiently detailing the regulation of the educational system.
