The CRES+5 debates the autonomy of higher education institutions

The autonomy of higher education institutions (HEIs) is a principle deeply rooted in the history of Latin America and the Caribbean. It is associated with resistance to the authoritarian regimes of the 20th century, the defense of democracy and the social function of teaching, research and extension. In addition to being spaces for knowledge, HEIs are also promoters of citizen, critical and transformative values, for which autonomy is fundamental.

In recent years, the higher education community in Latin America and the Caribbean has once again seen an increase in threats to autonomy. These come, for example, from budget cuts aggravated by the economic crisis that has accompanied the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as interventions in the electoral processes of university governing bodies. Regarding all of these, Thematic Axis 11 of CRES+5 – the follow-up meeting to the III Regional Conference on Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (CRES) – is aimed at reinforcing autonomy as a fundamental principle of higher education in the region. This axis seeks to understand the different ways of putting it into practice and to debate its relationship with other dimensions of higher education- such as quality and relevance, always at the service of society.

Participants

The consultants leading the work on Thematic Axis 11 are: Altagracia López, member of the National Commission for the Evaluation of Higher Education of Dominican Republic and president of the Superior Council of the College of the Americas; Ana Lúcia Gazzola, professor emeritus of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), from Brazil; Carlos Alvarado Cerezo, general secretary of the Central American Superior Council (CSUCA), from Guatemala; and Rosa María Torres García, coordinator of Human Development at the Polytechnic University of Puebla, from Mexico.

Base documents

Draft of the base documents resulting from the activities of the Working Groups (WGs) responsible for each thematic axis of CRES+5 are now available. The fourth preparatory meeting for the Conference took place in Havana, Cuba, on February 7th and 8th. The drafts of these documents were discussed, the final version of which must be prepared by the WGs and made available on the CRES+5 website by March 6th.

CRES+5

The III CRES follow-up meeting is being organized by the Ministry of Education (MEC), through the Secretariat for Higher Education (Sesu) and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes), and by the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNESCO IESALC). The Conference’s target audience are rectors, directors, academics, workers, students, higher education networks, associations and professionals, research centers, trade unions, representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations and all those interested in higher education on the continent.

CRES

The III Regional Conference on Higher Education, held in Córdoba (Argentina) in June 2018, adopted a Declaration and Action Plan 2018-2028. Following the World Conference on Higher Education in 2022, the region’s higher education actors assessed the need to hold a follow-up meeting to the III CRES- in order to promote a participatory process that would highlight the progress made, as well as the remaining challenges and emerging issues, especially related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thus, the CRES+5 will be the realization of this decision, allowing to analyze the achievements of higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean. At the same time, it will establish priorities for the next Regional Conference on Higher Education, scheduled for 2028.

MEC Social Communication Office, with information from Sesu and UNESCO IESALC