Face-to-face education in Venezuela has been suspended since March 16, 2020. This measure that affects all levels of public and private, formal and informal education, is part of the presidential decree of March 13, 2020, declaring a State of National Alarm due to COVID-19. The decree had stipulated the duration of the state of alarm for thirty days; this period was extended on April 12, 2020, for an additional thirty days, and again on May 12 until June 16. Regarding educational activities, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry for University Education announced on April 7, 2020, that the rest of the school year (ending in August) will continue under the modality of remote education.
This general assessment of the actions and the situation of public universities of Venezuela has been prepared from the documentation of the statements issued by university councils and directors on the occasion of the health emergency caused by SARS-CoV-2 and the suspension of face-to-face classes. The sources consulted include the documentation produced by the university co-government bodies of the country’s main higher education institutions, and the official social media handles of the associations of teachers, students, professional employees, administrative employees, and technicians. Given that the Ministry of Popular Power for University Education does not have a website, the Twitter account of the Ministry was consulted, as well as Minister César Trómpiz’s account and public statements. Several national news sites and publications of non-governmental organizations that monitor the operation of universities, internet access, human rights in the context of university education were also consulted, as well as rectors associations from the country’s main universities.
This assessment does not claim to be exhaustive. Rather, it is intended to show a picture of specific moments of the emergency in their impact on the higher education system. The period of study covers March to early May 2020.
Early communications and complaints during the health emergency
The autonomous and public universities of Venezuela responded promptly to the declaration of the pandemic by the World Health Organization and the decree of national alarm that ordered the suspension of work and educational activities and to abide by the national quarantine that started on March 16, 2020. We are going to note the particularities and highlights of some of these first statements from university councils, in the context of the emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the complex situation in the country.
Suspension of academic activities
The first communications from university councils and directors coincide in ratifying the suspension of administrative and teaching activities, and in guaranteeing the operation of essential services that, by their nature, cannot be suspended, such as the safeguard of university campuses, the provision of general services and administrative support, computing and telematic services, university firefighters, laboratories, vivaria, undergraduate and graduate courses in distance education mode, online mode, and mixed-mode, as well as graduate and rotating medicine programs in higher education institutions that have this degree.
In this sense, the University Council of Universidad de Los Andes (ULA) issued a statement on March 15, 2020, after the issuance of the decree of national alarm and the declaration of a pandemic by the World Health Organization. In the statement, the council announced the suspension of undergraduate and postgraduate academic activities, as well as administrative activities. Members of the university community were urged to take shelter in their homes and follow the recommendations for isolation, protection, and solidarity with those in need.
The University Council of Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV), held an ordinary session on March 18, 2020, and ratified the suspension of administrative and teaching face-to-face activities directed by rector Cecilia García-Arocha a few days before.
In a public statement on the “National health emergency and the suspension of activities in higher education institutions” issued on March 17, the University Council of Universidad del Zulia (LUZ) coincided in the message of acting within the framework of the pandemic, abiding by the central measures of the national government, and ensure the protection and safeguarding of the university community and citizens of Zulia state. Undergraduate and graduate classes, administrative and labor activities were suspended, as well as the rest of the research and extension activities, and graduation ceremonies. As in other communications, the operation of the universities was guaranteed at a minimum scale of essential services.
The University Council of Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador (UPEL) had already agreed to suspend academic activities as of March 16. In two statements on April 15 and 17, it reiterates its approval to reschedule most academic programs at the end of the quarantine. A contingency plan was approved. The statements emphasized the need to provide guidance, emotional, pedagogical, and ethical support, and values education to the university community and Venezuelan society.
The knowledge and human capital of universities to face the pandemic
All universities offered their capacities at the service of the nation to address the health emergency. In addition to complying with the national alarm decree and the WHO pandemic declaration, the University Council of Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV) offered the knowledge and human capital of the university community to tackle the pandemic in a March 18 statement.
In the statement on the “National health emergency and the suspension of activities in higher education institutions” of March 17, the University Council of Universidad del Zulia (LUZ) made available to the society of Zulia state and the rest of the country the knowledge and expertise of the university community for the attention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A March 15 agreement of the extraordinary session of the University Council of Universidad de Carabobo (UC), highlighted the creation of a committee for minimum health care and services, coordinated by the dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences in benefit of the university community and society of Carabobo state. Although it was initially decided that undergraduate medical students should be kept safe, the dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences summoned senior students on March 25 to join the local health care team for the COVID-19 pandemic.
A statement from the University Council of Universidad de Oriente (UDO), dated April 16, 2020, ratified the offer of the capacities and expertise of the institution in the fields of medicine, nursing, and bioanalysis to the service of the region and the country.
A plea for humanitarian aid
The request for aid to international humanitarian agencies is an element that stands out in several of the statements. Some universities made direct calls to the Government to allow the entry of humanitarian aid into the country. This was evident in the communications issued by Universidad del Zulia (LUZ) and Universidad de Los Andes (ULA). The latter also requested the acquisition of the medical equipment and supplies necessary to attend to the health emergency.
Other organizations referred to the same issue. On March 24, the Venezuelan Association of University Rectors (AVERU) also raised the need to resort to international humanitarian aid and the assistance of international organizations specialized in the health area.
Request for financial resources
The delay in disbursement of budget allocations by the central government to public universities is a factor that has contributed to the complexity of the emergency. For example, a communication by Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador (UPEL) on May 4 requested the transfer of the university budget for 2020; the document points out that there is a considerable delay. Similarly, the national government assigned less than 2% of the preliminary draft budget presented by Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado (UCLA). Universidad del Zulia (LUZ) and Universidad de Los Andes (ULA) only received 2.25% of the draft budget, while Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV) was granted only 9.8% (Source: Aula Abierta). Deficient budget allocations are central to explaining the structural crisis of public universities in Venezuela. The Venezuelan State has the obligation to approve and transfer adequate financial resources for the operation of public institutions. The financial suffocation of universities that depend on the state has been denounced since 2010 (Source: Aula Abierta).
The Federation of Professionals and Technicians of the National Universities of Venezuela (FENASIPRUV), which groups together professionals and technicians from public universities, expressed the urgency of receiving economic assistance at this time of the pandemic and requested international humanitarian aid to multilateral organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). In successive communications, other federations, such as the Conflict Committee of Administrative and Technical Employees of Universidad Simón Bolívar (USB), raise the alarm on the precariousness of the living conditions of university workers due to low wages and loss of social benefits. They called the National Executive to immediately address the social and economic emergency of the university sector in the quarantine period and after it. This includes updating salaries to international currency given that hyperinflation makes salaries in national currency nearly worthless (See statements 3, 4, and 5 of the Conflict Committee of Administrative and Technical Employees of Universidad Simón Bolívar).
Wage increase
The current salaries of university professors in Venezuela range between 4 and 8 US dollars a month (Muñoz, April 16, 2020). These wages do not allow them to pay for a basic market basket (estimated at 357 US dollars in April 2020), nor to acquire the necessary medicines for the treatment of diseases.
The University Council of Universidad de Oriente (UDO) asked the Ministry for University Education for an extraordinary cash bonus for professors that allows them to meet the cost of food and medicine. There is also a demand for the payment of four due months of scholarships and assistantships for students. In the university council of April 13, 2020, the rector of Universidad de Los Andes, Mario Bonucci, had already requested to the Ministry for University Education the payment of a humanitarian cash bonus of three months of full salary for university workers. UPEL also aspires to receive student adequate funding for scholarship programs, wages and salaries, transportation, and university restaurants, as well as adequate budgets for the operation of laboratories and updated technological infrastructure (UPEL University Council, April 15).
A call to guarantee the lives of Venezuelans
In addition to complying with the national alarm decree, the WHO declaration of a pandemic, and offering the knowledge and human capital of the university community to fight the pandemic, the first statement of the University Council of Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV) urged the national government to guarantee the lives of Venezuelans in the face of the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. The council required clear and complete information on the mechanisms and protocols for protection against the spread of the coronavirus. Additionally, it called to guarantee the supply of electricity and water services in hospitals, and protect the prison population against discrimination from humanitarian and medical assistance. Finally, it asked that social quarantine measures not be used by state security agencies or public powers to violate civil, political, and human rights enshrined in the National Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Attacks on University Campuses during the COVID-19 Pandemic
A recurring aspect of the communications issued by university councils and directors, as well as student federations, associations of university rectors, professors’ unions, administrative employees, and the national press, is the complaint about thefts, looting, damage, invasions, and vandalism against the infrastructure, equipment, supplies and security personnel of public universities in Venezuela. These attacks have worsened during the pandemic as the venues are left unguarded. Universities do not have the financial means to pay for security services. In several statements from both the universities and other organizations, the national government is urged to comply with the mandate to protect and provide security to public buildings of which public university campuses make a part, according to article 7 of the Law on Universities and article 102 of the National Constitution.
The reports account for the destruction of the tangible and intangible assets of Venezuelan public universities. Throughout the country, universities report theft, vandalism, destruction, fires, invasions, and even violations of university spaces by the State. Most of the thefts affected office supplies and equipment, electrical wiring, parts of computer equipment, and air conditioning systems. The acts of vandalism involved the destruction of laboratories, classrooms, bathrooms, besides reported attacks against university security personnel (according to information provided by Aula Abierta and Viva la U). Facilities such as the Tropical Medicine Institute at Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV) or the Oceanographic Institute at Universidad de Oriente (UDO) suffered constant attacks on their buildings, which were looted and even set on fire (Viva la UCV). The Oceanographic Institute of Universidad de Oriente (UDO) was ransacked and set on fire on April 17. A statement from the Venezuelan Association of University Rectors (AVERU) denounced that the fire brigades were not allowed to load fuel on their trucks and, due to lack of water service, they could not attend the emergency. In a previous AVERU statement on March 24, the members had asked the Ministry for University Education for guarantees to the operation and protection of the universities. For this reason, the association requested access to fuel and the granting of authorizations or safe-conducts to reach the university campuses in case of emergency, at times when fuel is scarce.
Experimental farms and stations under the special protection of universities and university laboratories have also been looted and their equipment stolen or destroyed. Reports on the invasion of lands belonging to Universidad de Los Andes (ULA) in the city of El Vigía and the deforestation of the Judibana experimental station were made public on March 13, While on March 23, news emerged of the theft of the electrical wiring of a new building in the Táchira campus of Universidad de Los Andes (ULA). Likewise, the “Urgent Statement to Public Opinion” issued by Universidad del Zulia (LUZ) denounced the theft of 73 specimens of genetically improved livestock (bulls, cows, and calves) from La Esperanza ranch, property of the Faculty of Agronomy of Universidad del Zulia (LUZ). This ranch is a research and production center, “an open-air laboratory” as stated by the University. It used to produce over 660 gallons of milk per month. As in the case of the fire at the Oceanographic Station of Universidad de Oriente (UDO), the failures in the supply of fuel to university vehicles prevented the supervision, protection, and surveillance of its facilities. In these cases, the losses are irreparable because it is not possible to replace genetically improved livestock, inputs for laboratory research, prototypes of engineering equipment, etc.
As of April 30, 2020, the Venezuelan organization Aula Abierta had recorded 72 security incidents in public universities in Venezuela, including Universidad del Zulia (31 incidents), Universidad de Oriente (21), Universidad de los Andes (12), Universidad Central de Venezuela (05), Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado (01), and Universidad de Carabobo (01). For its part, the University Council of the Simón Bolívar University, through its rector Enrique Planchart, denounced the violent entry of military groups and armed civilians into the Sartenejas campus (Miranda state). These groups entered the campus on April 4, 5, and 9 without authorization nor having requested entry or establishing prior communication with university authorities. Also, they intimidated the security personnel with firearms (University Council of Universidad Simón Bolívar, April 16, 2020).
The attacks and the institutional destruction against Venezuelan Universities continued to be denounced in May 2020 (FCU-ULA, May 6; Observatory on Universities, May 13, 2020). The last attack, bearing a particular symbolic weight, was a fire at the Central Library of the Sucre campus of Universidad de Oriente (UDO) on June 1, 2020. The university community expressed its indignation in a claim that transcended national borders (UDO University Council, June 2, 2020).
Conclusions
The COVID-19 emergency has undoubtedly changed everyone’s life. In particular, there is an inflection point in terms of the modalities and responses of the education system during the lockdown emergency. In the case of Venezuela, the responses of universities to the requirement of migrating to distance education have run into various obstacles due to the country’s structural crisis. The COVID-19 emergency has exacerbated the previous complex crisis that we have been going through since 2015. The conditions and actions of universities regarding remote education may be specified in a successive report. At the moment, the big question in everyone’s minds is what will come next in a post-pandemic global and national context. In the case of public universities in Venezuela, the responses will try to adapt both to our own social and economic realities, already in crisis, and to the innovative possibilities of obtaining our own resources through other means as a way for institutional survival.
Translated by José Rafael Medina
