The Ministry of Education responds to allegations allegedly not complying with the Zero Registration Program

Prior to Caracol Radio, university students in Santander reported that they had problems with the benefits granted through the “Zero Registration” program.According to the assurances of young people, despite being certified by these educational grants, collection bills began to arrive at home for the time spent in each entity. The Ministry of Education responded to the complaint and assured that some students actually withdrew from the benefits because they did not meet the requirements.

Jorge Luis Herrera, the father of a young man who is studying the last semester of microbiology at the University of Santander (UIS), said that he received a receipt that he had to pay $400,000 for his son's education. Eduardo Sanchez, the father of a student of philosophy, also experienced a situation like this. This young woman is exchanging in Spain and studying there for her seventh semester. His father received a collection account for 3 million pesos. If he did not pay for it, he told the station that his daughter would not be verified by the most recent grades.

These two cases are not the only ones. On the contrary, 295 students were withdrawn from the benefits.According to the government's portfolio in charge, about 300 young people are from Santander Industrial University. It should be remembered that this benefit was achieved after the civil protests that began in April 2021. This program promises that young people who belong to strata 1 and 2 will not pay for the semester at national public universities.

In the second half of 2021, that is, just before, young people who wanted to access 'zero registration' had to register between strata 1 and 2; Likewise, he had to meet requirements such as being a Colombian, not having a postgraduate degree, not participating in more than one undergraduate program in a public higher education institution and already benefiting from it and not being a beneficiary of another program of the national government.This is the Minister of Higher Education José Maximiliano Gmez (José Maximiliano Gmez)) explained about the station.

According to Gómez, when checking what happened to 295 students, irregularities were found that forced companies to withdraw from the program. For example, 107 of them already have university degrees, 48 of them are pursuing dual undergraduate programs at universities other than UIS, 114 are supported by Generation E programs, and the other 26 are not Colombians.All these violations are sufficient to deprive them of scholarships.Gómez responded to the complaint and asked him to know about the program he is applying for before approaching applicants.

Santander Industrial University stressed that during the last semester of 2021, 20,653 students enrolled for a bachelor's degree, of which 18,268 were benefited from government scholarships. Other figures highlight that 86% of students are studying for free. For example, 2,090 students did not have access to benefits because they live in houses on Tier 4, 5, or 6 where tips are not guaranteed.

In September 2021, Colombian President Iván Duque emphasized that “zero registration” is the “greatest educational conquest” achieved in the United States. “These measures to support the most vulnerable Colombians in response to the pandemic have been complemented by broader measures that coincide with the pillars that I have defined since the beginning of my mission, aimed at creating equal opportunities in our society under the framework of legality towards greater equity,” he stressed.

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