University of Santiago (USACH) hit with $327 million audit penalties

Chile's Contraloría General (CGR) issued a final audit report (No. 807 of 2025) covering the period 1 Jan 2023 – 31 Dec 2024 for the liceos administered by the University of Santiago de Chile (USACH) on behalf of the Ministry of Education. The audit uncovered multiple irregularities, including payments of $165.8 million in assignments and bonuses without documented justification, $103.8 million in expenses unrelated to liceo operations, $5.6 million in unaccounted assets, and a duplicate worker receiving salaries from two schools amounting to $18.9 million. In total, the CGR will impose a reparo of $327,700,415. The report also noted the absence of formal conflict‑of‑interest mechanisms, contracts with entities linked to university officials, and the operation of a technical‑professional administration program without the required regional education authority approval. USACH must implement corrective measures, initiate disciplinary procedures where appropriate, and provide documentation to regularize the identified deficiencies.