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The Ministry of Education reported that more than 78,000 students from 269 higher education institutions (HEIs) have not taken the Saber Pro exam in recent years . This standardized test is a mandatory graduation requirement. However, an analysis conducted by the Ministry revealed a significant backlog in this regard.
This analysis was conducted using technical cross-referencing of information between the National Higher Education Information System (SNIES) and the ICFES databases. These figures show that 269 universities, representing 97.4% of the education system, have at least one case of graduates without evidence of having taken the test.
These figures, covering the period 2019-2024, consolidated 2,410,921 undergraduate graduate records and 4,068,553 Saber Pro and Saber TyT test records. Of these, 78,756 graduates (3.27%) were identified as having no record of taking the test at the time of graduation. Additionally, 5,239 took the test after graduation.
At the university level, 40,940 cases were reported (2.67%) and at the technical and technological level, 37,816 (4.31%).
In response to these figures, Minister Daniel Rojas indicated that there may be several factors that explain these inconsistencies, such as failures in the information channels between institutions, the Icfes and reporting systems, errors in the uploading or updating of data, situations associated with administrative or registration processes, or possible misinformation in the registration chain.
“Something may be failing in the information chain, and we must rigorously evaluate it to correct these types of situations,” the official stated.
On the other hand, he mentioned that “ there is evidence of students who may have falsified their certificates and deceived the higher education institution. There may be errors in the ICFES databases, there may be errors in the SNIES databases. In other words, there may be situations that can be rectified.”
Rojas also reported that this investigation is not punitive, but rather seeks to prevent and correct these types of situations. “The purpose is to prevent, correct, and improve. This process should be understood as an opportunity to strengthen the system,” stated Minister Daniel Rojas Medellín .
In that regard, the ministry indicated that they will set up working groups with the 269 institutions to review the quality of the report , strengthen communication between universities, refine inconsistencies to identify causes and solutions, and conduct an evaluation of adjustments in the information processes between HEIs, ICFES and SNIES.