VENEZEULA: Government scraps university law

16 January 2011

Venezuela's national assembly has officially scrapped a controversial education reform law that would have increased government control over universities, reports the BBC.

The bill was part of a raft of legislation passed by supporters of President Hugo Chavez last month in the final days of the outgoing parliament. But the new assembly voted to scrap the measure after Chavez said he would veto it following widespread criticism.

Student protesters said the law threatened university autonomy. The law was designed by Chavez supporters to make universities more democratic, by giving workers more of a say in how they are run and opening them up to more Venezuelans. But the president said last week he would veto the bill after taking "numerous criticisms" into account, and urged renewed debate on the future of higher education.
Full report on the BBC site

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