A “face to face” with President Juan Manuel Santos could lead to the end of the public university strikes, but the government still must withdraw the proposed reform of higher education before dialogue can continue, a student representative announced on Thursday.
According to newspaper El Tiempo, the spokespeople of the students in Congress offered Santos the opportunity to have a discussion scheduled by the students on November 3.
“We want to open the debate, but there will not be a negotiation with the government while they do not withdraw the proposal, we need the construction of education that the nation really needs,” said Sergio Fernandez, the spokesman of the Colombian Organization of Students.
President Juan Manuel Santos recently responded to the new wave of student protests, arguing that public deliberation about education reform should take place in Congress and not in the streets.
“We know we can rely on large majorities in Congress, and the proposal could be approved without debate… the natural setting of the discussion is not only in Congress.
According to the student representatives, “this isn’t the generation that will watch the public university die.”
