Colombia to increase education funding

The Colombian government has proposed to double the budget for higher education after the Colombian president's education reform was criticized, officials said. Colombia's Minister of Education Maria Fernando Campo came to an agreement with the Colombian Association of Universities to raise their budget from $130 million to $249 million, RCN Radio reported Wednesday. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos' proposed an education reform in March that would seek alternate resources to fund universities, including funding from the private sector The association claims the autonomy of public universities will be jeopardized if universities receive funding from the private sector. Campo explained that the government is still in the position to allow private institutions to help finance universities. The proposed education reform will be presented to the Colombian Congress on July 14.