VENEZUELA: Public debate on university admissions

Venezuelan Vice-President Ramón Carrizales has proposed a public debate over higher education admissions policies in state-funded universities as part of a "profound revision of the education that we are constructing", writes James Suggett in Venezuelanalysis.com. The government has recommended a more inclusive admissions system that would eliminate the standardised aptitude test for university aspirants, as well as all mechanisms of internal university selection, in a country where only a fraction of students at big public universities come from the lowest income groups. But not all students approve.

The Vice-President’s proposition capped off a month of public debate among student groups and officials about changes to the admissions process proposed on 7 February by Higher Education Minister Luis Acuño, who declared that "every effort we have to put forth to increase spaces in the universities must be done," and said the aim of the reforms is to end exclusion from Venezuela's universities.

The government is also planning to construct more than 25 new universities in order to ‘regionalize’ and ‘municipalize’ higher education, so that students can attend universities close to home and carry out studies related to the needs of their communities, with expanded government grants to take care of student expenses. Opposition-supporting students have protested against the plan, calling it a "violation of the constitution" because it reduces university autonomy.
Full report on the venezuelanalysis.com site