The president of the MEA, Francisco Teixeira, told Lusa that the law on access to private universities imposes a rigorous test on candidates and only after approval must they register, a procedure that, he stated, has been violated by the institutions.
"What we have noticed in some universities is that there are some that take the tests and give them to their students with the questions answered and some have given clean sheets, but with the questions already in drafts", he declared.
According to the student leader, the search for profit causes these institutions to carry out tests, during the admission phase, without any rigor to assess the aptitude level of the candidates.
"As private institutions have profit as their main objective, they feel entitled not to fail anyone, not to question the students' ability and to give direct access", he highlighted.
The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESCTI9 announced, on Monday, that it will "immediately" investigate complaints about "inadequate practices" that compromise "the seriousness of the access process" and the suitability of educational institutions superior and sanction those involved.
The ministerial entity stated, in a press release, that situations of non-compliance with the rules for access to higher education courses were registered in some higher education institutions, in the academic year 2022-2023, and sanctioning measures were applied.
According to MESCTI, in relation to access for the 2023-2024 academic year, information has been arriving about "inadequate practices and anomalies" that "call into question the seriousness of the access process and the suitability" of institutions in the sector.
Francisco Teixeira applauded the Ministry's measure, considering the decision to be the right one, especially due to the commitment to act before the start of the 2023-2024 academic year, contrary to the position taken in the middle of the last academic year.
"I think the Ministry's measure is correct, because last year it acted in the middle of the year and harmed thousands and thousands of students. This year the Ministry anticipated private education in order to observe the law on access to private universities" , he stated.
For the president of the MEA, the irregularities found by MESCTI "have tarnished Angola's good name abroad" and also contribute to the country remaining at lower levels in the global ranking of universities.
"Congratulations to the Ministry, for the way it has supervised universities and private colleges, congratulations for anticipating this phenomenon", he concluded.
