2024-10-02 19:39:39
The Ministry of National Education has issued a resolution that regulates tuition fees, pensions and other charges for private schools in 2025. This measure seeks to guarantee transparency and equity, taking into account educational quality, inclusion and teaching work.
DIARIO DEL HUILA, CONTEXT
The Ministry of National Education has issued a new resolution that regulates tuition rates, pensions and periodic charges for the 2025 school year in private schools in Colombia. This document not only addresses the economic component, but also emphasizes the importance of institutional self-evaluation and transparency in setting educational costs, in order to ensure a balance between quality and accessibility in private education. It seeks to guarantee that the rate setting process is fair and transparent, ensuring that resources are efficiently allocated to improve infrastructure, educational quality and teachers’ salaries, all without neglecting equitable access to education. education.
Legal and regulatory basis
Based on key regulations such as Law 115 of 1994, Law 715 of 2001 and Decree 1075 of 2015, the resolution responds to the need to offer a comprehensive regulatory framework that allows a balance between the autonomy of educational institutions and state regulation. . This balance is essential to avoid abuses in rate setting and to ensure that costs are aligned with the services offered and the economic realities of Colombian families. The ultimate goal is to promote the financial sustainability of private schools, without compromising equity in access to quality education.
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The resolution classifies schools into three regimes: regulated freedom, supervised freedom and controlled regime. Each of these regimes is governed by a series of specific criteria that include institutional self-assessment, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), student retention, educational inclusion and recognition of teaching work. These factors seek to ensure that fee increases are applied in a fair and equitable manner, taking into account both the financial needs of the schools and the well-being of the families that choose them.
Classification of regimes and key criteria
In the regulated freedom regime, schools will have greater flexibility to set tuition rates for the first authorized degree, as long as they comply with the criteria established by the Ministry of Education, such as institutional self-assessment and the implementation of educational inclusion strategies. This regime applies to those schools that have demonstrated a high level of educational quality and that have effective self-evaluation mechanisms to guarantee the continuous improvement of their services. In addition, they must recognize the work of teachers, guaranteeing that at least 80% of them receive salaries according to the national scale. This promotes not only educational quality, but also the well-being of educators, a crucial aspect in the quality of the educational service offered.
For those schools that do not have a quality certification, but are classified under this regime, a similar scheme will be applied in which the increase will be calculated by adding percentage points based on the CPI, student permanence and educational inclusion strategies. These establishments will be able to freely set the rate for the first grade, while subsequent grades will follow an increase based on the previous year’s rate, which allows maintaining a sustainable and progressive rate structure.
In the probation regime, the process is similar, but with greater supervision by the Ministry. Rate increases will also be based on the CPI, student retention, educational inclusion strategies and recognition of teaching work, but with more rigorous control to ensure that the increases are justified and proportional. This regime applies mainly to schools that are still in the process of strengthening their educational quality, so State surveillance is essential to ensure that excessive increases do not occur that affect families.
On the other hand, in the controlled regime, the Secretariats of Education of the certified territorial entities will be in charge of setting the rates and the annual increase percentages. This regime is designed for those educational establishments that require greater state intervention to guarantee that educational costs do not exceed the limits established by regulations. Furthermore, it is expected that in territorial entities where official educational capacity is insufficient, private establishments can be enabled that meet the requirements to provide educational services, ensuring that students have access to quality education.
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Promotion of educational inclusion and additional benefits
The resolution also seeks to encourage the implementation of educational inclusion strategies, especially for the benefit of students with disabilities or special learning needs. Colleges that effectively develop these programs may receive additional fee increases, which represents an incentive for private institutions to further commit to equity and inclusion. This measure is key to ensuring that all students, regardless of their conditions, have access to an education that allows them to develop comprehensively.
Likewise, educational establishments may offer discounts on authorized rates, as long as these are clearly detailed in their regulations or coexistence manuals. This provision allows schools to adapt their rates to the economic reality of families, promoting greater accessibility and avoiding the exclusion of students for economic reasons.
Implications for the educational system and families
The setting of rates for the year 2025 represents an effort by the Ministry of National Education to guarantee that private education maintains high quality standards, while promoting equity and inclusive access. The new regulatory framework not only ensures that fees are fair and equitable, but also promotes educational quality by rewarding those schools that are committed to inclusion, teacher development and continuous improvement through self-assessment.
For families, this new system offers greater clarity about educational costs and the assurance that fee increases will be justified and controlled by the competent authorities. In addition, the possibility of accessing discounts will allow more students to opt for private education without costs becoming an insurmountable barrier.