The President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro Urrego, signed Regulatory Decree 2271 of 2023, which makes the expansion of the free higher education in Colombia, through the ‘University in your Territory’ policy.
According to the decree, the benefit granted within the framework of the free policy ‘University in your Territory’ “consists of the payment by the national government of the value of the net ordinary enrollment of students in programs at the technical-professional, technological and professional university level of public higher education institutions.”
The financing comes from the General Budget of the Nation. The Ministry of Education will directly transfer the necessary resources to public higher education institutions to cover the ordinary enrollment of the beneficiaries.
Establishes the flexibility of entry requirements to the higher education system, such as socioeconomic stratum, age, nationality and the prioritization of indigenous populations, Rrom, black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal and Palenquera communities, victims of the conflict, people with disabilities, communities peasants and people deprived of liberty.
To access the benefits of the ‘University in your Territory’ program, students must meet the following requirements:
1. Register in the National Higher Education Information System (SNIES) as enrolled in an undergraduate academic program (vocational, technological or university technical), in any of the public higher education institutions.
2. Not having a degree from a university professional program.
Students enrolled in more than one undergraduate program simultaneously will receive the benefit of the ‘University in your Territory’ policy for enrollment in a single program, the decree states.
The free policy also establishes an Administrative Board appointed by the Ministry of Education, made up of representatives of the portfolio, public higher education institutions and beneficiary students. This joint body will decide on the approval of the policy’s operating regulations, resource projections, special requests, efficient management of resources and actions for financial sustainability.
The creation of a Support Committee is also contemplated that will define the guidelines for the financial support of the most vulnerable students and will decide on special requests. The ‘University in your Territory’ free policy will begin to be implemented in the first semester of 2024. Student leaders and managers of higher education institutions participated in its creation, through six regional meetings held in the main cities of the country during October 2023.
This citizen participation was complemented through the Sucop online platform. The new free policy ‘University in your Territory’ will directly transfer resources to public higher education institutions to cover the net enrollment of beneficiary students and makes the requirements for entering the higher education system more flexible, prioritizing vulnerable populations. The policy will be financed with resources of $2.8 trillion from the General Budget of the Nation and will begin to be implemented in the first half of 2024.
