The challenges of the indigenous population against the structural inequality of Guatemalan public higher education

Abstract

This study determines the conditions of access to public higher education in Guatemala; specifically, the analysis is based on the representation of the indigenous population at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, emphasizing the main obstacles that limit their access to higher education. For this, a documentary research was carried out, taking as reference the official data generated by the Department of Registration and Statistics of the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, the last University Student Census -USAC 2009- and proposals generated from the indigenous population issues and higher education.The statistical data allow to visualize the percentage of disproportions of indigenous students in the years 2009, 2016 and 2017, in comparison with non-indigenous students. Based on the data generated, the analysis and discussion leads towards the need for the existence of an inclusive system that allows the representation of the historically disadvantaged and invisivilized population.  The main objective of this paper is to raise awareness of the challenges facing the indigenous population in the search for equity in access to public higher education and the role of the only public university in Guatemala in the face of the problem.