Impacto de los prestamos estudiantiles en la inversion de capital humano en educacion superior ¿Cuánto presta el gobierno y a qué pueden tener acceso los estudiantes con esos préstamos en Colombia?

H ow much does the government lend and what can students afford with it in Colombia

Resumen

Student loan programs in Colombia have been in operation since 1953. In fact, this country was the first Latin American country to implement them. Nevertheless, this article argues that student loans through ICETEX are not directly connected to high quality accredited institutions; instead they reinforce technical or vocational education, especially in academic programs at private universities with low tuition fees. Additionally, talented students from poor backgrounds still have difficulty meeting the requirements for access to long- and medium-term loans despite the improvements that ICETEX, as a government agency in charge of student loan services, has implemented in recent years. The analysis is first presented by reviewing the human capital theory and the concepts of cost sharing and student loans. Next, we contextualize them, comparing the types and amounts of student loans with the actual cost of education in Colombia. The conclusions were drawn based on estimates of the maximum, minimum, and average amounts loaned through ICETEX, as compared to the actual cost of education. Affordability of higher education in Colombia was found to be much lower than in developed countries, and student loans are far from being enough to enable underprivileged students to gain access to high-quality accredited institutions in this country. The results are meant to motivate academics and those interested in the economics of higher education to expand the scope of studies that promote a more efficient social balance in the strategy for student loans in this country.