The Ministry of National Education sent an official communication to the Ministry of the Interior and the Mayor’s Office of Bogotá requesting urgent actions to guarantee the protection of the community of the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional and its rector, Helberth Augusto Choachí González, in light of the recent risk situations publicly reported.
In the letter, signed by the Minister of Education, José Daniel Rojas Medellín, the Ministry expressed institutional concern regarding the threats reported by the rector and the presence of armed individuals not affiliated with the university community inside the facilities of the campus located on 72nd Street. This situation led to the preventive closure of the campus by the decision of the Academic Council.
The document also states that, in recent weeks, public statements have been made that, according to the Ministry, have contributed to the stigmatization of the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional and its academic community. The communication warns about the historical risks that such accusations have posed for public universities in Colombia.
The letter references sections of the Truth Commission’s Final Report, specifically Case 52 on universities and armed conflict, which documents acts of violence and stigmatization against university communities across the country. It notes that hundreds of university students were killed between 1962 and 2011 amid a climate of persecution and criminalization.
In this regard, the Ministry of Education called on national and district authorities to act immediately and prevent any situation that could endanger the lives and integrity of students, professors, staff members, and administrators of the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional.
Among the requests made is a petition for a public retraction regarding statements that, according to the document, have discredited university students, as well as the implementation of a civil protection perimeter around the University’s campuses. Likewise, the Ministry requested that the Ministry of the Interior activate the collective protection protocol established under Decree 660 of 2018 and strengthen the security scheme for Rector Helberth Augusto Choachí González.
The Ministry also reported that copies of the communication were sent to institutions such as the Defensoría del Pueblo, the Procuraduría General de la Nación, the Fiscalía General de la Nación, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in order to activate monitoring, investigation, and protection mechanisms for the university community.
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