translated from Spanish: Scholarship / os without money and ministerial silence

Sir: it is never a good idea to try to apply technocratic and administrative solutions to problems that are essentially political. We say to the Minister that it is for this reason that we are currently at an impasse that required the political will and commitment to the heights of someone who has spent most of his academic and professional career in universities. The hundreds of complementary benefits of national CONICYT doctorate scholarship applications rejected in January this year – where the most critical are the 241 are the extension of scholarship for thesis writing term – are much more than a problem of budget , because they account for a lack of social and collective vision, ending in a mere anticipation of services. But this decay in the quality of support to the training of graduate students in Chile is also a first test of legitimacy for the fledgling Ministry of science, technology, knowledge, and innovation in Chile.
Specifically, I was one of the four scholars who went to the meeting with the directors and managers of CONICYT area last Friday (01/02/2019), a group quite cross but heterogeneous in the sense that between the four are national PhD’s Social Sciences, hard sciences, the humanities, universities of Santiago and regions. That instance is led at the request of the Minister Couve, once formally accused receipt of our letter of January 24, 2019, which expressed its desire to arrange a meeting with us to discuss the subject. Although we found positive to have the opportunity to raise the issues that we have been denouncing, we find inappropriate for that instead of meeting with the Minister, our partners outside the direction of CONICYT, above all, when that agency is in the middle of transition to join the new Ministry. In fact, once we cleared our criticisms and demands, the response by CONICYT was a series of explanations of why they cannot do anything about, apart to share information with us. And, in his defense, real decision making does not lie in those who administer that instance. Therefore, after much insistence, the only thing that we could achieve was commitment to being discussed the topic as part of the first meeting of the Council of CONICYT in March this year, where Yes decide about what and how to finance various programs of study of postgraduados OJ. However, we also know that the Council can fully talk, and then wash their hands of the issue without any obligation of responsibility against Fellows are organising their doctoral students facing a precedent that exists from 2011. If there is no silver, no silver, right? However, we are hundreds of fellows we have commitments with foreign institutions to carry out our investigations, we require special inputs that we can only acquire with operating expenses, or outright, we have no money to live during the next six months.
Indeed some scholars will find a way to end without major impediment. And the thesis that inevitably will be – so these last few years of work are not wasted – most likely will be something mediocre, with the pass mark, unless they constitute a significant contribution in your area. This because between us there are many fellows with children, without other economic support that scholarship, some residing in the country on student visa (and therefore without the possibility to work legally), etc. But we are not asking for charity by the most critical cases, but to become a political conviction charge the basic problems and strengthening a system of scholarships so that they comply with the purpose of allowing someone who is accepted into a master’s degree or doctorate can pursue and complete the graduate independent of his socio-economic reality.
Minister Couve, although we have many differences in terms of the role of the University in contemporary society, I would like to congratulate you and express my agreement with what you said Matías de el Río in public, on January 29, with respect to the importance of the critical thinking as something that goes beyond the work of academic, saying that “here the critical thinking, is not only good for a scientist. I think that this is good for the society that has to make decisions”and they are Sciences have to provide evidence, and critical and creative thinking to the social sphere. Then, if you are known to scholars who are studying all these years, often to work later in the same University system in pursuit of further critical thinking and in the social sphere, would not be counterproductive to such objective not? ensure conditions so that their thesis projects come to fruition?
Finally, it is important to not lose sight that the 241 rejected requests for extension is only a symptom of one bigger problem. However, this us back to the issue of initial, of the need to take action in the matter instead of just putting administrative patches, but also in the flat over medium and long term. Let me explain: the last few years have brought many important mobilizations by graduate fellows, beginning, perhaps, with “high-risk” 2014-15 and culminating with the fellows with fringe benefits “no deal” or “rejected” the year past and again now. In fact, in the mentioned meeting last Friday, insist them on the need for a recurrent and formal dialogue between CONICYT and the fellows (and other actors such as the CRUCH, etc.), and that affects decisions about scholarships so every year do not return to the same. However, this request was not received as something to try on the Board of CONICYT in March, by the uncertainty that brings the ministerial transition. Now, Sir, you have the opportunity to go beyond the short-termism of contingency fire-fighting and create a space to discuss and generate agreements about the financing of post-graduate studies in conjunction with those people who are affected by this.
Douglas Kristopher Smith
scholar and candidate of doctorate in the center of American cultural studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Chile
member of the network of Becarixs Afectadxs

Original source in Spanish