📋 Tender Overview
The Senate Chamber dispatched the articles of the legal text, introducing several changes that will be addressed in a third procedure in the Lower House. In order to facilitate the conciliation of activities of higher education students who fulfill responsibilities in the workplace and also in the care of their children, people with disabilities or older adults, the Senate Chamber concluded the dispatch of the project that protects their rights, in its third procedure to the Chamber of Deputies. On the occasion, the Upper House introduced several improvements and modifications to the initiative, some of which were defined through indications and requests for a separate vote. Fundamentally, the project seeks to facilitate the permanence of students of higher education and Technical Training Centers who have a son or daughter, a person with a disability or an older adult under their care. In the first instance, all the rules of the project that did not receive amendments or that were supported unanimously were approved unanimously (28 votes). SEPARATE VOTESThen, at the request of Senator Gustavo Sanhueza, the rule that would open the possibility of exempting studies was voted separately, since in reality the spirit of the project is about facilitating them. In this way, by 28 votes and 1 abstention it was approved to withdraw said expression. The tenth article was also rejected by 16 votes against 13 because due to the way it was worded it would mean an increase in the infrastructure costs of all higher education institutions. However, Senator Claudia Pascual argued that the article had an optional wording. By 18 votes to 11, the provision was also rejected that stated that the Superintendency of Higher Education must dictate, within a period of six months from the publication of this law, and in accordance with the provisions of Article 21 of Law No. 21,091, on higher education, a general rule that will establish the minimum content of the internal rules that each institution of higher education must dictate. higher education.In this regard, Senator Sanhueza considered that this norm violates university autonomy and also considered that it is almost impossible for the Superintendency to dictate a regulation in six months. For her part, Senator Pascual specified that the power and mandate to be able to generate this regulation already has the Superintendency of Education, therefore, it is not adding a new faculty, this is already done. Regarding the deadline, he recalled that this issue was discussed with the Superintendency of Education and it is feasible to do so. Likewise, the phrase of the transitional article was narrowly rejected: Notwithstanding this, the rights established in the law will have immediate application and effect for people who find themselves in any of the situations indicated in article 2. Senator Sanhueza explained that when a project of this type, which has a series of situations that are independent of each higher education center, because reality of each one is independent of the other, therefore, making it applicable immediately will ultimately generate many expectations of what has to happen and not give the necessary time to the institutions so that they can internally regulate how each of these protocols are going to be, I believe that this deserves not to be considered. However, Senator Pascual specified that when reading the article, indeed, here a period of one year is given to count, from the publication of the law, to have these general regulations by the Superintendency. What the last final phrase is stipulating is that, without prejudice to that time, the accommodation aspects for students, women and men who care for sons, daughters or who are caregivers, there may be facilities; but it is not the obligation of everything else. For this reason, it seems to me that the elimination of the complete phrase ultimately leaves a bill, once enacted, without execution. This can be applied, both respecting the deadline for higher education institutions and, at the same time, guaranteeing the exercise of the right for students and student caregivers, said Senator Pascual. Finally, the Minister of Education, Nicolas Cataldo, stated that any inconsistency in form or wording that may arise, we can eventually correct in the joint commission.
