Petro’s education reform advances in Congress thanks to an agreement with independents and the opposition

The members of the First Commission of the Senate demonstrated for the first time in many months that in the Legislature it is possible to reach agreements between different parties. On Wednesday morning, 19 senators from the government, independent and opposition groups unanimously approved the education reform presented by President Gustavo Petro. The project seeks to guarantee that education is a fundamental right for all citizens and at all levels, from early childhood to university. To become law, it only needs to pass one last debate in the Senate plenary before June 20.

At the end of the positive vote on the 44 articles, opposition senator Germán Blanco, from the Conservative party and president of the commission, celebrated the consensus reached: “30 years ago, a statutory education law was not approved in Colombia. With the conciliation that this commission has just shown, all the political parties, government and opposition, agreed to sign a collective amendment, demonstrating that, despite the differences, a collective construction can be carried out,” stated the Antioquia politician. . If the agreements are maintained, the rest of the process will be easy and fast. If approved, it would be the first major reform of the Petro Government that receives unanimous support from the opposition.

The Minister of Education, Aurora Vergara, recognized the work of the congressmen who put aside political differences to build a joint project that brings together the wishes and concerns of the different groups. “Today, in the First Commission, we reaffirm that education unites us as a nation, towards a new future for children and young people. When the country dialogues, agreements are reached that allow us to move forward,” the academic wrote in her X account. And she added: “Together we can transform education so that it is not just a public service, but a fundamental right for all. Colombians. “We are one step closer to realizing what the Colombian people long for to live with dignity, in conditions of equity and social justice.”

According to the Ministry of Education, the keys to this reform include the progressive guarantee of the fundamental right to education in the two cycles of early childhood, from 0 to 3, and from 3 to 6 years of age; the progressive progress in the universalization of the right to education from 0 years of age to higher education; and the mandatory nature of secondary education with emphasis on its articulation with tertiary education. The reform also seeks to promote comprehensive training including arts, knowledge, culture, sports, science and technology, recognizing the education and knowledge of indigenous peoples, black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal, and Palenquera communities. and the Rrom people, and close the gaps in access to education in peasant, rural, isolated and vulnerable territories.

For Vergara, another determining point of the bill is its objective of dignifying teaching work and recognizing the right to education of diverse populations, such as pregnant and lactating people, caregivers, fathers and mothers who are heads of households, and people with disabilities. , those with exceptional talents, those facing learning disabilities, victims of conflict or people deprived of their liberty.

Vergara’s open attitude to dialogue, essential for the advancement of the project, was recognized by the senators who have most opposed the Government. David Luna, from Cambio Radical, publicly thanked the minister for her willingness to give in, who has just overcome some complex months due to the failure of the public teachers’ health system and the dispute over the rector’s office of the National University: “I a recognition to Minister Aurora Vergara for her forms and substance, which allowed us to reach an agreement. All parties were able to sit down and talk. This is a message of hope for the country,” Luna said. Senator Paloma Valencia, from the Uribe Democratic Center, joined in the thanks: “We celebrate the decision of the Minister of Education to agree on the draft statutory law, leaving room for different visions of education to be included.”

The pro-government senator María José Pizarro, rapporteur of the bill, also expressed her joy at the approval of the project: “The great apartheid of our time is that education has not been for everyone, neither at all levels nor under the same conditions. . This reform gives us the possibility of building a life project with equal opportunities, at least with an equal floor for everyone,” she explained at the end of the session. Pizarro insisted on the value of the agreement: “We all wanted a different project, but we sat down to talk and reached a consensus, that is what peace is about. “You have to give in, I learned that from my father.”

Senator Ariel Ávila, of the Green Party, explained the main points on which the Government bench gave in to reach the agreement: “This is a statutory law that requires 11 votes, minimum. Both parties had 10 votes, so if we did not dialogue the two presentations would fail. We reached a consensus on the 44 articles. The term post-secondary education was changed to tertiary education and the mixed system was recognized and not the preferably public one. Senator Alfredo Deluque, from the La U party, who initially opposed the project and then promoted the opposition’s alternative proposal, also explained the reasons for the consensus: “We protect the mixed nature of the National Educational System. We claim and protect university autonomy. We are advancing towards the objective of decentralizing the educational system to strengthen its quality and coverage. We include the principle of articulation of all levels and modalities of education, guaranteeing better articulation between secondary and tertiary education.”

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