It’s false. Through social networks, false information was disseminated in which the closure of postgraduate courses was ensured due to alleged student desertion at the Faculty of Medicine of the Central University of Venezuela (UCV). The university authorities have clarified that they have not made that decision so far.
The information was disseminated by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Aula Abierta in its report Health university students at risk: violations of academic freedom and quality education. According to data from the study, the NGO documented student dropout rates at the UCV, which might result in the closure of postgraduate courses.
Clarification
In this regard, the UCV Faculty of Medicine clarified that by December 2022 they have a record of 1,587 active postgraduate students. They also highlight that the number of applicants in the last year was 1,384.
The document, signed by Dr. Emigdio Balda, dean of the UCV Faculty of Medicine, also specifies that the number of graduates between the years 2015-2022 was 3,706 professionals for specialties, masters and doctorates.
The academic authorities detailed that student enrollment (undergraduate) in 2022 at the Luis Razetti School of Medicine was 1,200 students and at the José María Vargas School of Medicine 700 students.
The pronouncement does not refer to the official figures registered in recent years, so until now a possible decrease in postgraduate enrollments in this house of studies has not been confirmed or verified.
NGO opens the debate on student desertion
The Aula Abierta organization attributes student desertion in Venezuelan universities to the scarcity of supplies, violations of academic freedom, censorship, lack of technological updating, budget suffocation, precarious infrastructure, persecution, and insecurity.
According to the document, in the postgraduate courses of the UCV Faculty of Medicine there is a deficit of medical and laboratory supplies (such as medicines, solutions and injectors), in addition to other medical equipment that hinders medical practices.
The investigation also denounced an increase in vacancies for teachers and professors. According to the data, by October 2018, the teaching payroll was reduced by 40%.
