Regime cancels three other private universities

The Ministry of the Interior (Migob) formalized this Monday the cancellation of legal status from the Adventist University of Nicaragua (UNADENIC), the North Nicaragua University Association (UNN) and the Metropolitan Pro-University Foundation (UNIMET), institutions that, among other things, he accuses of not complying with the “minimum elements” in their academic offerings. required by the National Council of Universities (CNU) and the National Council for Evaluation and Accreditation (CNEA).

With the cancellation of UNADENIC, registered as a Non-Profit Organization (OSFL) on February 14, 2011; the UNN, which was registered on February 13, 2001; and UNIMET, registered on August 26, 1999; The list of organizations canceled by Migob amounts to 3,323 since 2018, according to a database built by CONFIDENCIAL.

In the case of UNADENIC, Migob indicates in Ministerial Agreement 62-2023 that the cancellation was requested by the CNU and the CNEA, after determining —through Evaluation Resolution No. 27-2022 of November 30, 2022— that the university “does not meet the minimum quality standards necessary to obtain the corresponding accreditation.”

They indicate that the UNADENIC curricula “do not contain the minimum elements required by the CNU and the CNEA for Higher Education institutions” and that the curricular designs are not approved by the CNU.

“UNADENIC’s postgraduate offer does not have the curricular methodology established for the postgraduate level. Likewise, the doctorate in Educational Sciences is not authorized by the CNU and the CNEA ”, reads the Migob agreement.

Study plans did not meet quality standards

Along the same lines, Migob Ministerial Agreement No. 61-2023 states that in an evaluation carried out on February 13, 2023 at the UNN, by members of the CNEA, they concluded that this university “does not have study plans that contain the elements minimum requirements” required by the CNU and the CNEA and that does not evidence the approval of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate subject programs.

The UNN “does not have the curricular methodology for the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels,” says the CNEA evaluation cited by Migob. They add that the campuses of the university “lack the necessary support resources for the development of teaching, administrative and research activities” and, likewise, they do not have “the necessary infrastructure for the development of learning.”

In addition, the UNN has not developed research projects, according to the guidelines established by the CNEA.

In the case of UNIMET, Ministerial Agreement 60-2023 indicates that said university was evaluated by the CNEA on April 11, 2023, finding that it “does not have the minimum quality” required to obtain certification and accuses it of ” falsify information” about research programs.

“Of the 36 races that UNIMET offers, 26 do not have registration. Likewise, the postgraduate courses they offer are not authorized by the CNU and CNEA”, emphasizes Migob.

They add that “UNIMET falsified information before the CNU and the CNEA in reference to the areas of research in the humanities, sciences, health and services, reporting information that did not belong to the university.”

Relocated students and confiscated property

On the other hand, the Migob assures that these universities “did not report their financial statements” for the 2022 fiscal period with detailed breakdowns of income and expenses, “did not promote transparency policies” in the administration of university funds.

They add that the directors of UNADENIC, UNN and UNIMET must deliver “in an expeditious and orderly manner” to the CNU Compliance Directorate, the information on students, teachers, careers, study plans, enrollment databases and qualifications, so that students are relocated to CNU universities.

Regarding the assets and real estate of the canceled universities, the Migob indicates that it will proceed in accordance with the second paragraph of article 47 of the Regulations of Law 1115, General Law for the Regulation and Control of Non-Profit Organizations, which textually says:

“In the event that the cancellation of legal personality and cancellation of registration is derived from non-compliance with Law No. 1115, it will be up to the Attorney General of the Republic to proceed ex officio with the transfer of movable or immovable property to the name of the State of Nicaragua.”

Other universities canceled and confiscated

The cancellation and confiscation of UNADENIC, UNN and UNIMET occurs one month after Migob did the same with the Pan American University Association of Nicaragua (UPAN) and the University of the Pacific Association (UNIP). Before, the Autonomous Christian University of Nicaragua (UCAN) and the Juan Pablo II University were cancelled.

All these universities, supposedly, were not accredited in the quality indicators and did not report “their financial statements, clarifications about their assets, execution of funds, increases and decreases in accounts without warning.”

The rector of UCAN, Jeannette Bonilla, initially refused to hand over the students’ academic records and requested more time to challenge Migob’s resolution. But, faced with the threat of the CNU to denounce her “before the corresponding national authorities”, she ended up giving up the premises and two weeks later the CNU inaugurated a new state university named Universidad Nacional Padre Gaspar García Laviana.

The University for the Integration of Latin America (Unival), which lost its legal status on December 14, 2022 by order of the CNU, was the only one that filed a challenge before the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) against Migob , the CNU and the National Council for Evaluation and Accreditation (CNEA). However, this was declared inadmissible for “lack of procedural standing.”