Resumen

MORENO-RESENDEZ, Alejandro  y  AGUILAR-DURON, Juanita. Challenges of public universities facing the necessity of funding for development of their activities. Terra Latinoam [online]. 2013, vol.31, n.3, pp.243-255. ISSN 2395-8030.

The essay aims to describe the essential role of higher education in the generation of knowledge, as well as the factors that condition public universities in developing countries in the context of the neoliberal model that currently predominates. These educational institutions demand huge quantities of economic resources to carry out their essential activities and preserve their essence as university. The paper also includes the challenges and trends that any public university will have to confront if it wishes to maintain its status of a critical entity of society. It concludes that the role of public universities is essential for the advancement of scientific knowledge that would enable disadvantaged sectors of the society to counter the effects of economic globalization, which restrict the development of higher education as a strategic means to increase human capital, promote social development, and foster individual and collective intelligence of citizens.

Palabras llave : globalization; independence; public resources; science; higher education.