MEC notifies universities with unauthorized medicine courses

The Ministry of Education (MEC) notified six higher education institutions that announced new Medicine courses without having received authorization. The ministry reported that the entities offered their courses based on provisional judicial authorizations. According to the notification, institutions must suspend the offer of vacancies in addition to suspending those that have already been announced.

So far, two of the institutions receiving the notification have been announced: the Centro Universitário Facens (Unifacens), in Sorocaba (SP), and the Centro Universitário Mauá de Brasília (Unimauá), based in Taguatinga Sul (DF). As prescribed in the notification, both universities have already published clarification notes on their websites.

Unimauá states that its Medicine course complied with all the quality requirements imposed by current legislation, obtaining maximum grades in all assessments promoted by the MEC, and that, since September 12, 2023, the body “illegally refuses” to publish the ordinance authorizing the course. In its note, Unifacens also explains that it met all the requirements analyzed by the National Health Council of the Ministry of Health, also obtaining the maximum score in the ministerial evaluation.

Faced with the MEC’s ​​refusal to authorize the courses, both institutions went to court. Unimauá says on its website that the Ministry was legally required to publish the authorization act several times, all of which were ignored. Therefore, in December last year, he received judicial authorization to continue with the entrance exam for the 2024 academic year, classes for which began in February.

The university informs that the SERES/MEC 106/2024 ordinance cannot “overturn” the judicial decision that protects its Medicine course and that, for this reason, the act is illegal. The institution has already gone to court to request the annulment of the ordinance.

According to Unifacens, the selection process for the 60 places in the medical course in the first semester of 2024 is supported by a judicial decision handed down by the 5th Panel of the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region – TRF1, based in Brasília (DF). In a statement, the university states that the Ministry’s notification violates “legal security and the effectiveness of judicial decisions” and creates a “climate of distrust in the community”, affecting the institution’s reputation.

The University Center also states that it will maintain its position in accordance with the court order, as it understands that it cannot be violated, as the Ministry did not present any appeal in TRF1.

The Ministry’s ordinance was published on Thursday (28). In it, the MEC determines that institutions must publish clarification notes on their websites and social networks stating that they did not have authorization from the body to offer their Medicine courses. The statement must also provide information that, in these cases, the selection process was carried out only with judicial authorization in a preliminary decision, that is, provisional.

All notified institutions have five calendar days, from the date of receipt of the notification, to provide clarifications to the Higher Education Supervision Directorate of the MEC’s ​​Secretariat for Regulation and Supervision of Higher Education (Seres). Furthermore, within 15 days, they must also present proof of compliance with the precautionary measures and will have up to 30 days to file an appeal.

If they fail to comply with MEC guidelines, institutions may incur administrative irregularities, as provided for by law, which may result in penalties being applied, such as the deactivation of courses and qualifications; federal intervention in the university; and disqualification.

According to the Ministry, such measures are necessary to establish a standard for deciding on requests brought by virtue of a court decision and the inclusion of specific modifications more consistent with the Mais Médicos Program, whose objective is to address the lack of these professionals in health in municipalities in the interior of the country and on the outskirts of large cities.

The MEC also revoked Ordinance No. 397/2023, which deals with the processing of requests for authorization of new Medicine courses and the increase of places in existing Medicine courses.