Venezuela’s University of Carabobo resorts to self-administration to surmount its budget deficit

Venezuela’s University of Carabobo resorts to self-administration to surmount its budget deficit

Universidad de Carabobo recurre a la autogestión tras déficit presupuestario

 

 

 

The Rector (Dean) of the University of Carabobo (UC), Jessy Divo de Romero, pointed out that this 2024 they will intensify the self-administration policy in the most important university of Carabobo State, because the budget assigned by the Ministry of University Education is insufficient.

By Correspondent lapatilla.com

During a press conference at the UC dean’s office, Divo de Romero explained that the approved amount is only enough to cover between 2% and 3% of the total operating expenses.

“This year the budget quota that they approved for this school is certainly higher than that of 2023, but it is insufficient for the university and even more so if we take into consideration the currency devaluation (…) What was approved is not a guarantee that we will receive it. And now all services have to be attended to within those operating expenses, with the exception of Cantv,” she clarified.

She explained that the self-administration and own income policy would be aimed at covering the academic area, research and extension work, and community services.

“A (School) Council will be held in the next few days to discuss admission regulations, because if we do not generate and reinforce the policy of generating self-administration and own income, it is impossible for the seven faculties to continue guaranteeing not only education, but academic excellence,” she stated.

Delay in appropriations and withholdings to employees savings accounts

On the other hand, the dean of the UC reported that in the first University Council of 2024 the situation faced by the employees savings accounts was addressed, after the President of Ipapedi, Fermín Conde, made a complaint to the media where he blamed to the dean for the non-payment of contributions and retentions to the savings accounts during the years 2021, 2022 and 2023.

“As president of the University Council, an invitation was extended to the Presidents of Catrauc, Mr. Hernán Barrios; Inprajuc, Mr. Pedro Tinoco; Ipapedi, Professor Fermín Conde, who offered information to those present about the status of each savings program,” she said.

The UC has three savings programs accounts: Inprajuc (Retired and Pensioned Administrative Personnel), Catrauc (Savings Bank for Administrative and Labor Personnel), and Ipapedi (members of the Research Teaching Staff).

Rector Divo de Romero explained that since September 2021, the UC sends all the information (the schema where salaries and wages are also included) monthly to the ‘Patria’ System, which is the body (government office) that transfers all the monies that are sent.

“When everything became centralized in the capital city and the Patria Platform was created, the universities became limited by the Human Resources Directorate, together with the Administration Directorate, the Information Technology and Planning and Budget Directorate, when preparing the schemas,” she clarified.

She assured that from 2009, when the rector’s administration began, until September 2021, there was not a single moment of delay in the transfer of contributions and withholdings to the funds.

“The university received these resources from the Central Administration Directorate and immediately they were transferred to the different funds,” she stated.

She reported that in January of this year, payment for January 2023, July 2023 and retentions for August 2023 were received, and they were immediately delivered to the cashiers.

“We want to make it clear that in the University Council we are here to attend to and resolve the problems of all these personnel, not to assign responsibilities or to manipulate the truth. We have all the letters that the Administration Directorate sends to Caracas claiming contributions and retentions.”

The rector announced that last Friday, personnel from the Directorate of Human Resources, Budget and Planning and Administration assisted a national meeting with all the universities to define the administrative policies for the university sector.

There it was discussed how to solve the problem of these savings accounts, and it was then approved that the universities register their documents, as well as the savings funds and the certification of these accounts with the objective of registering them separately to generate payments to the savings bank accounts directly. Let’s hope this comes to pass,” she remarked.

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