View of the administrative president's office of the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), next to the Central Library and the majestic concert hall, the Aula Magna. Photo: File photo.
The Venezuelan minister for higher education, Ricardo Sánchez, has reported that the Venezuelan university sector is the most robust in the region, comprising 173 higher education institutions in which not only Venezuelan students, but also students from other countries, attend free of charge and receive a high quality education.
Sánchez made the statements during his participation in a meeting of ministers and senior authorities of Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean, organized by UNESCO-IESALC and held in Montevideo, Uruguay.
The Venezuelan minister noted that over 70% of universities in Venezuela belong to the public, and uphold the constitutional right to free and quality universities. He highlighted the fact that in Venezuela, 77.6% of the total budget is allocated to social investment, out of which 20% allocated to education.
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Sánchez further highlighted the fact that more than 1,390 people from indigenous communities enrolled in Venezuelan universities.
“In September of this year alone, the public policy on admission to university education facilitated the conditions for 339,415 new high school graduates to enter the university sector, of which 5,055 people had some type of impairment,” said the minister, speaking on the inclusion policy of Venezuelan universities.
He added that in Venezuela, 100% of young people who graduate from secondary education are guaranteed a place in university, and that at the Hugo Chávez University of Sciences, there are students from 25 countries who study free of charge.
“Many of them come from sister nations in the region such as Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, México, Perú, Belize, and Paraguay,” he said. “Higher education is the fundamental pillar for our countries, and we must commit to strengthening our institutions, to promoting regional cooperation, in order to guarantee that all of our youth have access to quality education.”
He urged representatives from other countries to share experiences together, “to create an educational space that promotes critical thinking, equity, and social well-being,” while adding that university education is not only a fundamental human right, but also an essential driver of social transformation.
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National and international scholarship holders
Sánchez noted that Nicolás Maduro’s government has created universities in rural areas and remote places, and despite the over 900 illegal sanctions imposed on the nation by the US empire and its allies, Venezuelan university graduates continue to be an example of “technical, scientific, and professional quality.”
“Currently, the government guarantees a social protection system for students,” he explained, “and there are 157,786 scholarship holders, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate level, belonging to 66 universities. We have 222 scholarship holders studying abroad at the best universities in the world, 138 undergraduate and 84 postgraduate.”
The minister also pointed out that Venezuela has 416 international scholarship recipients at the university level, studying in the country free of charge.
He explained that scholarships are also awarded to recognize academic, sports, cultural, and scientific merit. 1,300 new scholarships have been guaranteed in 2024 for postgraduate students to conduct research in priority areas such as basic sciences, health, and nanotechnology.
(Últimas Noticias) by Aura Torrealba
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
