The Latin American network of universities expressed its concern and insisted that the State of Nicaragua rectify what it has done with private universities in the country.
The Union of Latin American and Caribbean Universities (UDUAL), in a statement, expressed its concern about the 14 confiscations of private universities in Nicaragua and called on the State to rectify “this error”, considering it “arbitrary” and that “violated due process.”
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“UDUAL, the largest and oldest university network in this region of the world, expresses its deep concern about the violation of the laws that the Nicaraguan State itself has given itself, by not proceeding according to due process to judge universities and associations”, is read in the letter of the university entity.
The statement is signed by Dr. Dolly Montoya Castaño, rector of the National University of Colombia and president of UDUAL, as well as by Rector Rodrigo Arim, University of the Republic, Uruguay, and vice president of the organization’s University Autonomy Commission. university.
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In the same statement, the Latin American university organization questions the action and what will happen to the property of the universities now confiscated, “more worrying is that, in addition to the cancellation of operating permits, there is no clarity about what will happen with the assets of those universities. Is this also confiscation of assets, despite the fact that the article prohibits it? This seems to be the case because new authorities have already been appointed who we assume will operate in the facilities of the canceled universities”, the question.
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For the student expelled from the public universities of Nicaragua, Elthon Rivera, this condemnation of one of the regional university entities is important because it reflects that due process was not carried out in the confiscation of the 14 universities in the country.
“UDUAL, being the most important body, is condemning the violation of due process, of the arbitrary confiscations of universities in Nicaragua, this has a huge regional impact, and it is projected internationally that the issue of universities in Nicaragua is already at complete risk,” says the university activist.
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Rivera points out that the statement asks the State of Nicaragua a question “Is it also a confiscation of property, despite the fact that the article prohibits it?” The statement is questioned, the university student notes that this statement highlights the arbitrariness in which the “confiscations” were carried out.
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Read the statement: https://www.udual.org/principal/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Comunicado-Nicaragua.pdf
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Rivera points out that the only university until last year (2021), accredited by UDUAL in Nicaragua is UNAN Managua, “this is because of how rigorous and difficult it is for universities to be accredited with this organism, but that all of them would like to be”, the young university student points out.
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The statement is given by the closure and confiscations of 14 private universities in the country on February 7, when in an “arbitrary” decision, denounced by academics and experts as well as by students of these universities, due to the impediment of carrying a due process, stripping them not only of their legal status but also of their facilities, properties and imposing new authorities on them that will be under the command of the CNU, which is controlled by the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
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The closures of these houses of higher education are given with the argument of the Nicaraguan Assembly and the Ministry of the Interior, both controlled by Daniel Ortega, due to the alleged failure to present their financial reports, which some of the universities have denied.
