MEC warns universities that offer medical courses without authorization

The Ministry of Education (MEC) reported on Thursday 28 six higher education institutions that have announced new courses Medicinal without having the necessary authorization from the MEC. The ministry claims that the institutes in an irregular situation took the entrance exams for the medical course on the basis of a provisional court decision.

In addition to the notification, universities must not offer places on the course and, if this process has already started, the offer of places to students must be stopped immediately.

• The notification also determines the publication of a public note on the website of the same educational institution, on social networks, as well as on the places where offers have been made with the necessary clarifications regarding the aforementioned medical course not yet having the mandatory authorization of the MEC to operate.
• The declaration must also contain information that the selection process for medical vacancies was carried out only with the permission of the court in a preliminary, i.e. provisional, decision.

Institutions have a period of five calendar days, from the date of receipt of the notification, to provide clarifications to the Higher Education Supervision Directorate of the Secretariat for the Regulation and Supervision of Higher Education (Seres) of the MEC.

Within 15 days these entities will have to present proof of compliance with the precautionary measures starting from the date of notification, and will have 30 days to appeal.

Failure to comply with the MEC’s ​​instructions may result in an administrative irregularity, as required by law, subject to sanctions, such as the deactivation of courses and qualifications; federal intervention in the university; and disqualification.

The MEC justifies the measure as necessary to establish a standard for deciding on requests made pursuant to a court decision and the inclusion of specific changes that are more consistent with the Mais Médicos Programme, which aims to fill the shortage of these healthcare professionals healthcare in municipalities in the hinterland and on the outskirts of large cities.

Even the MEC ordinance n.397/2023 revokedwhich deals with the processing of requests for authorization of new Medicine courses and the increase of places in existing Medicine courses

Institutions

Among the institutions identified by the MEC are the Centro Universitário Facens (Unifacens), in Sorocaba (SP), and the Centro Universitário Mauá de Brasília (Unimauá), based in Taguatinga Sul (DF). The two institutions of higher education continue to offer the medical course on the home pages of their respective websites.

On the website of the Centro Universitário Facens, a notice under the publication of the second notice of the entrance exam in Medicine informs the Internet user that “the selection process has been judicially authorized with a decision issued by the 5th Commission of the TRF-1 [Tribunal Regional Federal] in case no. 1066986-35.2020.4.01.3400.”

Wanted by the news Brazilian agency, Unimauá confirmed that it was aware of the MEC’s ​​decision and regretted the decision. The institution specified that the lessons of the first medical course began in February this year and defended itself by replying that its medical course satisfied all the quality requirements imposed by current legislation, obtaining maximum marks in all the assessments promoted by the MEC itself, he specified.

In a statement, the institution also said that, since September 12, 2023, the Ministry of Education has refused to publish the order authorizing the courses, after having fulfilled the legal requirements. Unimauá classifies this refusal of the department as illegal and, considering itself a victim of arbitrariness, confirms that it has turned to the court.

“The Court ordered the MEC, not once, but several times, to publish the authorization document, but this was ignored. Finally, on 18 December 2023, to guarantee its decision, the Judiciary authorized the carrying out of the entrance exam for the year 2024. The UniMauá Medicine course was offered to students and their families under this judicial control, of which they were informed in the competition announcement”, reads the note from the Centro Universitário Mauá de Brasília.

The MEC has not yet released the names of the other four universities notified for the same reason. /AGÊNCIA BRAZIL