Equidad y políticas de acceso a la educación en Colombia: análisis de los programas Ser Pilo Paga y Generación E

Abstract

Education is one of the indicators of development and social progress in a country and constitutes a fundamental tool for achieving social equity. However, higher education is the most unequal level of education in Latin America and the Caribbean. In Colombia only 22% of people between 25 and 64 years old have a university degree. In recent years, programs have been developed in the country that looking to promote access to higher education through forgivable credits, such as Ser Pilo Paga and Generación E. This paper has a purpose to analyze how these programs contribute to promoting equity in the country. The research has a qualitative methodological design whose data collection method is the document review. To analyze equity, an adaptation of Espinoza's multidimensional equity model is used (2013, 2014). As results, it’s found that, although these programs manage to improve the chances of access to young people with lower socioeconomic levels in the country, they present some shortcomings that generate situations of inequity for the beneficiaries and the population in general. It is concluded that to generate equitable access programs to higher education, it’s necessary to integrate public policies at all educational levels, since the inequities that are present since the beginning of schooling are reflected at all levels and stages of the educational process.