The Tico Times Online Daily Page

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, September 24, 2003

MAKING FRIENDS: Costa Rica's Vice President Lineth Saborío (L) met yesterday at the UN with Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo (center) and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
AFP/TT

Union Leaders Accuse U.S.
of Trying to Privatize ICE
Union leaders of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) Monday sent a letter to the U.S. Embassy accusing the U.S. State Department of pressuring the Costa Rican government to change its position regarding the privatization of ICE before entering into a free-trade agreement with the United States (CAFTA), according to reports.
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C.R. Veep to Address
UN General Assembly Today
Costa Rican Vice-President Lineth Saborío today will address the 58th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York to discuss, among other topics, the admittance of Taiwan into the UN.
(Click for more)

CONESUP Promises Improved
Oversight of Private Universities
Responding to the growing number of private universities operating in Costa Rica without government authorization and offering unrecognized degrees, Pablo Hernández, incoming president of the National Council of Private Higher University Education (CONESUP), this week promised to implement a more collaborative University inspection process.
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September 24

Concerts by Tito Oses and Nito Mestre
Tonight at 8 p.m. at the Melico Salazar Theater, Av. 2, Ca. Ctrl./1. The singers will then be performing on Fri., Sept. 26 at 8 p.m., at Picacho Discotheque, Cartago and Sat., Sept. 27 at 8 p.m., Salón El Lago, Grecia. Info: 287-1111.

Serenade Night
All musicians, amateur and professional are welcome to play and share music, at 7 p.m., at Casa de la Cultura, Heredia. Info: 261-4485.

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Union Leaders Accuse U.S.
of Trying to Privatize ICE

Union leaders of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) Monday sent a letter to the U.S. Embassy accusing the U.S. State Department of pressuring the Costa Rican government to change its position regarding the privatization of ICE before entering into a free-trade agreement with the United States (CAFTA), according to reports.

The administration of President Abel Pacheco has been adamant that it will not privatize ICE as a concession to the U.S. for a free-trade agreement. But according to Fabio Chávez, president of the ICE workers' union: "The State Department has launched a great offensive" to try to change Costa Rica's position.

Chávez this week declined an invitation from the U.S. government to visit the U.S. city of Houston, where the penultimate trade talk will take place, to meet with different people and institutions involved in the trade negotiations. He said such a visit would contradict his principles.

Chávez, who led the ICE strikes in 2001 and again last July, said he will support President Pacheco, who he claims is under pressure to privatize ICE. The union leader, however, did not offer specifics to support his claim the U.S. is pressuring for the opening of the state electricity and telecom institute.

With the final two rounds of CAFTA talks approaching, ICE union members have expressed concern that the U.S. will lean heavily on Costa Rica at the last minute. Costa Rica's state telecom and electricity sector is considered a potential gold mine for U.S. investors.
-AFP

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C.R. Veep to Address
UN General Assembly Today

Costa Rican Vice-President Lineth Saborío today will address the 58th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York to discuss, among other topics, the admittance of Taiwan into the UN.

Saborío left for New York last Sunday to fill in for President Abel Pacheco, who canceled his trip due to the recent strike in Limón (TT, Sept. 19).

At the invitation of UN Secretary General Koffi Anan, Saborío Monday addressed a special UN forum on government responses to HIV/AIDS worldwide epidemic.

Costa Rica is considered a pioneer among developing countries in offering state-subsidized antiretroviral medications to people infected with the HIV/AIDS.

"We are aware that all people are at risk of the infection and we need to treat all cases equally, regardless of gender, social condition, or sexual preference. Everyone has the right to receive protection and attention against HIV/AIDS," Saborío said, according to a Casa Presidencial press release.

Health Minister Rocío Sáenz said Costa Rica's participation in the forum represents recognition of the efforts a country with limited economic resources has made in the battle against the illness.

Saborío took advantage of her visit to the UN to meet yesterday with Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo and Brazilian President Luiz Ináncio Lula da Silva.

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CONESUP Promises Improved
Oversight of Private Universities
By Amanda Schoenberg
aschoenberg@ticotimes.net

Responding to the growing number of private universities operating in Costa Rica without government authorization and offering unrecognized degrees, Pablo Hernández, incoming president of the National Council of Private Higher University Education (CONESUP), this week promised to implement a more collaborative University inspection process.

Of the 54 universities operating in Costa Rica, 50 are private, according to CONESUP. More than 60% of students attending university are enrolled in private schools.

CONESUP is charged with ensuring quality of education at all universities, investigating complaints and granting permission for new schools.

Hernández said CONESUP is investigating four complaints of universities offering unapproved degrees and programs. The new cases add to 40 complaints concerning unlicensed programs at various private universities, and 249 filed against the San Juan de la Cruz University, which was forced to close by CONSEUP in 2001, but reportedly has since reopened.

Ministry of Education Manuel Antonio Bolaños and Hernández blamed recent media coverage for harming the credibility of CONESUP, but promised to work on a revised and transparent process to investigative irregular private universities.

"We are going to denounce [the universities] before they are denounced [by students]," said Bolaños.

"This is not a police investigation, but a collaborative one," said Hernández. "We don't want to put students in jeopardy, but if we have to close schools, we will."

Hernández acknowledged the importance of private schools, saying they had assumed the burden of public universities limited by state funding. He stressed that CONESUP needs a bigger budget and more personnel to fulfil its regulatory mandate.

According to the law governing CONESUP, technical teams have four months to approve new universities and programs, but it often takes longer because the process to annul titles once they are approved takes even longer, Hernández explained.

CONESUP has come under fire in the past year for what critics feel is a lax evaluation process of new universities.

"Creating a private university in Costa Rica is the easiest thing in the world, and the worst of all is that there is no real inspection by CONESUP," academic Angel Ruíz, author of a study called "Higher Education in Costa Rica," was recently quoted as telling the daily La Nación.

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