"Students express disapproval over secretive education changes"
Reform of Portugal's Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation: Uncertainty Surrounds Scientific Projects and Scholarships
The Portuguese government has announced a significant reform of the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI), aiming to streamline the ministry and increase efficiency. The reform, which reduces the number of entities from 18 to 7 and decreases senior management positions from 45 to 27, is intended to achieve efficiency improvements through time and resource savings.
According to the Academic Association of the University of Lisbon (AAUL), the reduction of organisms and the centralization of competencies in a limited number of 'agencies' lacks public scrutiny. The AAUL has expressed concerns about the continuity of ongoing scientific projects due to the extinction of the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), the central organ for funding science and research in Portugal.
Regarding the impact on ongoing scientific projects and scholarships, the available information does not explicitly detail direct effects on specific projects or scholarship programs. However, the reform's focus on streamlining processes and reducing administrative complexity could potentially benefit scientific projects by improving the efficiency and predictability of funding decisions and bureaucratic procedures.
The reform seems designed to reinforce institutional efficiency rather than undermine credibility. By reducing fragmentation and hierarchy within the ministry, it may enhance the government's capacity to support science and innovation coherently. This is consistent with Portugal's broader strategic orientation, as seen in national policies such as the Portugal 2030 Strategy, which focuses on innovation, digitalization, and sustainable development as drivers of growth and competitiveness.
However, the AAUL questions the confidence of students in the higher education system due to the elimination of the Direção-Geral de Ensino Superior (DGES) and the merging of its functions into a single organism, the Institute for Higher Education (IES). The AAUL states that DGES ensures functions such as the management of social action scholarships, the process of candidacy and access to higher education, the validation of study cycles and diplomas, and articulation with international institutions.
It remains unclear how the technical and scientific autonomy of the now extinct structures will be ensured in the new structure. Similarly, it remains unclear how institutional articulation with universities and polytechnics will be guaranteed in the new structure.
The new Institute for Higher Education will assume the functions of managing social action, issues related to the internationalization of institutions, and the creation of the European higher education space. The AAUL's concerns about the future of science, education, and higher education not being decided behind closed doors are shared by many. The government has described the current structure of MECI as "anachronistic" and fragmented, but the path forward for Portugal's academic community remains uncertain.
What will be the fate of ongoing scientific projects and scholarships under the reform of Portugal's Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation,, particularly with the extinction of the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) and the merging of the Direção-Geral de Ensino Superior (DGES) functions into the Institute for Higher Education (IES)? The current reform, amidst policy-and-legislation changes in politics and general-news, has left academia in a state of uncertainty, as questions about the technical and scientific autonomy of the extinct structures remain unanswered.
