Financial crisis at public universities

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The financial situation of several state universities has been fragile for a few months. At least 9 of them face crises and debts that amount to MXN $16,000 million but what out universities in this position? According to information obtained by EL UNIVERSAL , there are four reasons behind this crisis : hiring employees without the authorization of the Education and Finance ministries , financial crises sparked by previous administrations, wrong policies in regards to retirement plans, and excessive work benefits .

Nevertheless, out of the 9 universities, the five public schools with the highest debts deteriorated after the current administration canceled the program Aid for the Attention of Structural Problems in Public State Universities , which was used to pay debts. In some other cases, state authorities are responsible because they refuse to allocate more resources to public universities .

Moreover, excessive privileges in some of these universities also affect their finances . For example, in the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos ( UAEM ), workers, academics , and administrative personnel receive a three-month Christmas bonus and those who are part of the workers' union can be absent for up to 90 days and receive 50% of their salaries.

However, the Autonomous University of Zacatecas as the largest deficit , which amounts to MXN $2,100 million. The main reason is tax evasion and avoiding to pay the ISSSTE fees. The institution owes around MXN $900 million to the Retirement Savings Syste m ( SAR ); MXN $560 million to the ISSSTE ; MXN $225 million to the ISR ; MXN $248 million to the Fovissste , and MXN $200 million to the SAT .

The solution to this urgent crisis is the collaboration between federal and state authorities with these universities . Furthermore, the support provided by the government is essential, as well as transparency in the management of resources; moreover, it is key to establish new mechanisms to prevent these crises .

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It is a mistake to think that the only ones affected are academics and workers at public universities . The financial crisis affects students because without enough resources, universities won't be able to welcome more students and many of them won't have the opportunity to study.

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