The Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre, clarified today that Higher Education, for which he has not been appointed Secretary of State, will remain under his remit.
“Basically, I’m going to be in charge of higher education,” said the minister in a statement to the Lusa news agency, to clear up doubts about who would be responsible for the area, after the list of secretaries of state had been released.
The “super” Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation of the XXIV Constitutional Government will have two Secretaries of State for Education and one for Science, but none dedicated exclusively to Higher Education.
Universities and polytechnics, however, will not be orphaned, assured Fernando Alexandre, who believes that his experience in managing institutions makes it natural for him to take on the role himself.
“The fact that there is no Secretary of State for Higher Education is a false question and I think we will show that, in fact, this is in no way taking away from the importance of higher education institutions, because it is the minister himself, who comes from academia and who knows the system very well, who will take over this portfolio,” he stressed.
In addition to the minister, the new ministry – which once again brings together education, higher education and science under the same umbrella, areas that were divided into two ministries under previous socialist governments – includes three secretaries of state.
Political scientist and education specialist Alexandre Homem Cristo will be Assistant Secretary of State for Education, Pedro Cunha, currently Director General of Education, will be Secretary of State for Education and researcher Ana Paiva will take on the Science portfolio.
In addition to Higher Education, Fernando Alexandre will also have a direct role, in conjunction with Ana Paiva, in Innovation, an area he says he knows very well.
Regarding the criticism of the government’s new organizational structure, and after some representatives of the academic community expressed concern about the merger of ministries, Fernando Alexandre said that none of the areas would be devalued.
“What we are trying to convey with this merger is precisely the importance of thinking of education and investment in science, regardless of the level at which it is made, as a fundamental element for the transformation of our society, for the integral formation of people,” he explained.
Also responding to the doubts raised about his appointment – an economist with no experience in education – Fernando Alexandre said that the Ministry he leads “is a team” and that the experience of the two Secretaries of State reflects the importance given to the sector.
“I tried to build a team that had the skills in the different areas so that we could deliver to society what we are going to commit to in the government program,” he added.
Without giving any details about the government’s program, which will be delivered on the 10th and discussed in Parliament on the 11th and 12th, he highlighted the strengthening of the autonomy of higher education institutions and equal access to quality education, from the age of 0 to higher education.
Fernando Alexandre also explained that the new ministry will, for the time being, be based in the premises of the former Ministry of Education, on Avenida 24 de Julho, in Lisbon, and that the Palácio das Laranjeiras, where the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education was based, will be vacated.
