 In 1871, Abdón Cifuentes was appointed Minister of Public Instruction by President Federico Errázuriz Zañartu, in which role Cifuentes proposed that state schools refrain from holding exams from private schools (mostly Catholic) and that such tests be carried out in the colleges themselves.It was signed into law January 15, 1872, and caused a strong reaction from lay professors.On January 30, 1872, he signed another law that granted the right to students to study separate branches of law.