Political Constitution of Colombia (1991)

The provisions enacted in the field of private or public credit may regulate the special conditions of agricultural credit, taking into account the cycles of harvests and prices as well as the risks inherent in farming activities and environmental disasters.

Education is an individual right and a public service that has a social function. Through education individuals seek access to knowledge, science, technology, and the other benefits and values of knowledge.

Education shall train the Colombian when it comes to respect for human rights, peace, and democracy, and in the practice of work and recreation for cultural, scientific, and technological improvement and for the protection of the environment. The state, society, and the family are responsible for education, which shall be mandatory between the ages of five and fifteen years and which shall minimally include one year of preschool instruction and nine years of basic instruction.

Education shall be free of charge in the State institutions, without prejudice to those who can afford to defray the costs.

It is the responsibility of the State to perform the final inspection and supervision of education in order to oversee its quality, for fulfilling its purposes, and for the improved moral, intellectual, and physical training of those being educated; to guarantee an adequate supply of the service, and to guarantee for minors the conditions necessary for their access to and retention in the educational system.

The nation and the territorial entities shall participate in the management, financing, and administration of state educational services within the limits provided for in the Constitution and statute.

Individuals may create educational institutions. An Act shall establish the conditions for their creation and management.

The educational community shall participate in managing educational institutions.

Education shall be in the care of individuals of recognized ethical and pedagogical fitness. An Act guarantees the professionalization and dignity of the teaching profession.

Parents have the right to select the type of education for their minor children. In state institutions, no individual may be obliged to receive religious instruction.

The members of ethnic groups shall have the right to education that respects and develops their cultural identity.

The eradication of illiteracy and the education of individuals with physical or mental limitations or with exceptional capabilities are special obligations of the State.

The autonomy of universities is guaranteed. The universities shall be able to administer and govern themselves through their own by-laws, in accordance with the applicable statute.

An Act shall establish a special regime for state universities.

The state shall strengthen scientific research in the public and private universities and shall offer special conditions for their development.

The state shall assist those financial arrangements that make possible the access of all individuals qualified for advanced education.

The State has the obligation to promote and foster access to the culture of all Colombians equally by means of permanent education and scientific, technical, artistic, and professional instruction at all stages of the process of creating the national identity.

Culture in its diverse manifestations is the basis of nationality. The State recognizes the equality and dignity of all those who live together in the country. The state shall promote research, science, development, and the diffusion of the nation’s cultural values.

The search for knowledge and artistic expression are free to be pursued. Plans of economic and social development shall include the promotion of the sciences and of culture in general. The state shall create incentives for individuals and institutions who develop and foster science and technology and other cultural manifestations and shall offer special incentives to individuals and institutions who pursue these activities.

The nation’s cultural heritage is under the protection of the State. The archaeological heritage and other cultural resources that shaped the national identity belong to the nation and are inalienable, not subject to seizure, and are imprescriptible. An Act shall establish the mechanisms to restore control over them when they are in the hands of individuals and shall regulate the special rights that ethnic groups may enjoy when they occupy territories of archaeological wealth.

Journalistic activity is protected to guarantee its freedom and professional independence.

Every person has the right of access to public documents except in cases established by statute.

Professional secrets are inviolable.

The electromagnetic spectrum is an inalienable and imprescriptible public resource subject to the management and control of the State. Equality of opportunity is guaranteed in the access to its use within the limits determined by statute.

To guarantee genuine pluralism and competence, the state shall intervene through the mandate of an Act to avoid monopolistic practices in the use of the electromagnetic spectrum.

[Abolished by Legislative Act No. 2 of 2011]

The Congress of the Republic shall adopt an Act which determines the policy on matters of television.