Higher education, free studies and funding in uru-guay:

alternatives and current challenges

Abstract

The debates around the university models in Uruguay were inherent and accompanied the development dynamics of the university in the country since its creation at the beginning of the 19th century. In addition to the positions on the national issues, they reflected the various discussions that took place in the interna-tional arena and in Latin America. In the Organic Law of the University of the Republic, the principle of free university education was established. At the beginning of the 1990s, a legislative innovation, the Uni-versity Solidarity Fund established an ex post payment to be made by graduates of the public system. Alt-hough the law linked this payment to income derived from professional activities, and not to the qualifica-tion delivered, the legality of the norm and its character as a financing mechanism have been discussed by different actors. The introduction of this innovation had as its historical context of debate on the financing models of the public university. In addition, in the subsequent implementation of the Fund, its bureaucratic apparatus was expanded -without proportion to the scholarships served- and a new tax legislation was in-troduced. Based on the review of the literature and the documentary analysis - the article points out limits and challenges of the current system, as well as identifies alternatives of higher education policies related to the matter.