or relocate. This intervention seeks to contribute to the rootedness, effective enjoyment of rights, and comprehensive reparations for victims, through the delivery of economic incentives, in-kind, and training. Throughout the year, the beneficiaries of this program receive three cash transfers and supplies and materials to reduce basic housing deficiencies, implement food security projects, and to realize a productive idea. This is accompanied by strengthening and training for 2 years on technical issues for the generation of an idea, self-subsistence skills, integration with the community and collective reparation activities. In 2017, the program cost $ 104,528 million pesos, something close to 0.011 percent of GDP.

# **_<u>Education</u>_**

Expenditures on education in Colombia amount to 3.1 percent of GDP and are second in importance, representing 24 percent of public social spending of the National Central Government of Colombia. The education system is divided into several levels: i) initial and transition for children under five, ii) primary school comprising five grades for children between 6 and 10 years old, iii) secondary education with four grades for children between the ages of 11 and 14 years, iv) two grades of secondary education to obtain a high school degree and, v) higher education, which is subdivided into university, technical and technological education.

Public education from primary to secondary education is decentralized and administered by Certified Local Administrations (ETC), which is to say, departments or municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants.<sup>23</sup> This system is financed with resources from the General System of Transfers (SGP), which are the transfers made by the nation to the local administrations for the administration of the basic services they are in charge of, such as education. Likewise, local administrations can contribute their funds or royalty resources to finance the service. The Ministry of Education (MEN), in turn, can provide resources for programs to improve education, such as the School Meals Program, which is considered as a separate transfer. The MEN formulates educational policy and monitors and regulates the delivery of the educational service; while it is responsible for the distribution of the resources of the SGP, among other functions. Meanwhile, ETCs are primarily responsible for directing, planning, and providing the education service.

Higher education in Colombia is regulated by Law 30 of 1993. People can gain access to it once they have completed secondary education and submit the results of the standardized state tests Saber 11. Tertiary education has two levels of training, undergraduate and graduate, while the undergraduate level includes technical, technological, and professional levels, and the graduate includes education at the level of specialization, masters, and doctorate. In 2017, undergraduate enrollments reached 2.28 million, which represents 52.4 percent coverage for this level.

In turn, there are three types of higher education institutions: universities, technical schools and colleges. Public or private institutions can provide higher education. State institutions are funded from the National General Budget, the local administrations, and the resources they obtain through registration, tuition, and others. During 2017, the Ministry of Education transferred 3,029,180 million pesos to public universities,<sup>24</sup> which represents 0.3 percent of GDP.

> 23 A municipality can be certified in education before a department as long as it meets the technical, administrative and financial requirements to administer the service, in accordance with Law 715 of 2001.

> 24 The figure was taken from the Budget Execution Report of the public universities of the 2017 fiscal year, excluding items transferred by pension concurrences. The information was reviewed on March 1, 2019.

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