Bill 75.

Summary.

The bill adds objectives to Article 2 of Law 1 of January 11, 1965, concerning transparency in the selection of scholarship recipients and beneficiaries of educational loans financed or administered through the State. It proposes giving priority, where applicants are otherwise equally placed, to those with greater financial need; expanding civil society participation on the Governing Board (Consejo Directivo) of IFARHU; and applying technical criteria to scholarships, financial aid and other benefits. It also seeks to remove political and subjective criteria from these decisions. For purposes of the bill, it defines financial need, equal conditions, equal opportunity, selection procedures and technical criteria. It also defines scholarships, educational loans, educational financial assistance and financial aid, including their recipients and funding or repayment characteristics.

Scholarships and educational loans financed with public funds or administered through public entities would be subject to transparency and accountability requirements. Those entities would have to publish information every six months through their official channels, social media and websites, and display it at each institution. The information would cover available awards and access criteria; lists of participants and selected applicants with the identifying details and results specified in the bill; individual and aggregate scholarship and loan amounts; the overall amount awarded; reasons for choosing among applicants in equal circumstances; and the names of officials who approve the benefits. Educational scholarships within the bill’s scope would be awarded on merit and under the criterion in Article 102 of the National Constitution (Constitución Nacional). Requiring recommendations from applicants or seeking favors in exchange for benefits would be prohibited. Applicants would have clear, timely and accessible information about others applying alongside them, supported by objective instruments showing the criteria for both awards and refusals.

The bill revises the membership of the National Council (Consejo Nacional) by replacing Article 4 of Law 1 of January 11, 1965. The proposed membership includes representatives of the Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación), National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional), Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas), National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación), Foreign Ministry (Cancillería) and Authority for Transparency in Public Administration (Autoridad de Transparencia en la Gestión Pública). It also includes representatives of parent, student, labor, youth, business, educational assistance and competitiveness organizations. A new Article 10-B would create a technical commission to evaluate applications for scholarships, financial aid and other benefits. Specialists from MITRADEL, MEF, business organizations and CONATO, along with a youth representative, would serve on it. The commission would develop standardized evaluation matrices, issue reasoned assessments for Governing Board decisions and submit an annual report to the Ministry of Education and other education and business stakeholders. Under the proposed Article 10-C, the Council would set objective criteria, while candidates would have access to evaluation procedures, equal treatment in assessment and feedback on their results.

Scholarships awarded jointly by the National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation and the Institute for Training and Development of Human Resources (Instituto para la Formación y Aprovechamiento de Recursos Humanos) would fall outside the bill’s scope. Seeking recommendations or favors in the circumstances described would be treated as influence peddling and trigger disciplinary proceedings, dismissal if established, and referral to the Public Prosecutor’s Office (Ministerio Público) for the corresponding criminal proceedings. The National Authority for Transparency and Access to Information (Autoridad Nacional de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información) would penalize breaches of the transparency provisions under Title XI of Law 33 of April 25, 2013, without excluding civil or criminal liability. For repeat violations, it could also recommend dismissal. The proposed law would take effect upon publication in the Official Gazette.

The bill concerns the public bodies named above, as well as students, families, educational institutions, labor organizations and business sectors in the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá).