In a statement responding to the clarification issued today by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation (MECI), without delving into personal conversations of which there are no records, António de Sousa Pereira declared that his sole position on the matter was that he would “never sanction an illegality.”
The rector further assured that he did not make “any effort or proposal to circumvent a situation that,” in his view, “was entirely clear from the outset.”
“The stance I have always maintained with everyone who approached me, including the minister [Fernando Alexandre], was that I would rather the oversight or a court made me accept a situation I consider unacceptable than face legal proceedings for it,” António de Sousa Pereira stated in his note.
Minister Fernando Alexandre today denied having pressured the rector of the University of Porto to admit candidates to the Medicine course irregularly or to have suggested any solution that would violate the prevailing legal framework.
“The Minister of Education, Science, and Innovation did not, in any way, pressure the rector to admit those candidates irregularly, nor did he suggest any solution that would breach the existing legal framework. Therefore, the accusation by the Rector of the University of Porto is false,” according to a statement released by the ministry.
Expresso reported today that António Sousa Pereira claimed to have received pressure from several “influential” individuals, without naming them, to allow 30 candidates who did not meet the minimum required score in the special access test for graduates from other areas into the Faculty of Medicine.
The issue, according to Expresso, reached the Education Minister, who called the rector to express willingness to create extraordinary spots so these students (who did not achieve the minimum required score in the special access test for graduates from other fields) could enroll in the Faculty of Medicine.
“The minister wanted this to be done, but I told him: ‘I won’t do it. I follow the law. If the minister thinks it should be different, give me the order, and I will execute it,'” the rector told Expresso.
In MECI’s clarification, the minister confirmed talking to the rector over the phone, during which “availability was expressed for the creation of 30 additional spots, provided there was a legal basis, which the rector agreed to.”
“During the call, the Minister of Education, Science, and Innovation also suggested that the rector launch an internal process to identify the person responsible for publishing the list of admitted students without the rector’s approval, with appropriate consequences,” according to the statement.
The Ministry of Education further explained that a Selection Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, “in violation of the regulation approved by the institution itself, changed the minimum score from 14 to 10 on the Knowledge Test, allowing the admission of 30 more candidates, in addition to the seven who met the 14-point requirement.”
It was noted that “the list of 37 admitted candidates was published by the institution, with the enrollment period stated, before receiving approval from the rector of the University of Porto, creating the false expectation among candidates that they had been admitted.”
According to the ministry, the rector decided not to approve those results due to a violation of the competition’s regulation, having approved a new list admitting only the seven candidates who scored at least 14 points.
