Paraguayan senator tells education minister: 'Don't wash your hands' on 100,000 unaccredited degrees

Senator Esperanza Martínez has strongly criticized Paraguay's Minister of Education, Luis Ramírez, urging him not to "wash his hands" of the systemic issues plaguing higher education. Martínez, who is the vice-chair of a special commission investigating fake university degrees and irregularities in higher education, called for a thorough internal investigation rather than merely forwarding the case files to the Public Ministry.

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I tell the Minister of Education: don't wash your hands again by only sending it to the Attorney General. Do your internal investigation. Who were the responsible parties? Who participated? Who granted approvals? Who didn't do their job or pretended to be ignorant for this to happen?

Speaking in the Senate, Martínez highlighted a significant problem: between 2023 and 2025, approximately 164,000 undergraduate degrees were issued, but only 39.2% of these came from accredited programs. This means nearly 100,000 Paraguayan graduates received degrees from unaccredited courses during this period. The senator also pointed out the dire situation in postgraduate programs, where only 5.1% of active programs are accredited, with 1,970 enabled programs versus just 101 accredited ones.

Martínez expressed concern that the investigation might unfairly target students who obtained these degrees. She stressed that the primary focus should be on identifying the individuals and entities profiting from these irregularities. "The main objective must be the business owners, their accomplices, and those who are profiting in this process," she stated, emphasizing that many young professionals, including teachers, technicians, nurses, lawyers, and engineers, could have been victims of a system that encouraged them to invest resources in degrees lacking expected validity.

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We are talking about nearly 100,000 Paraguayans between 2023 and 2025 who received an undergraduate degree for a course that did not go through an accreditation process.

The senator's call to action aims to uncover the structural flaws and corrupt practices within the educational system, demanding accountability from authorities, officials, and any political connections involved in facilitating these unaccredited degrees. The commission intends to delve into who was responsible, who participated, who granted approvals, and who neglected their duties or feigned ignorance.

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The students cannot be the main target. The main objective must be the business owners, their accomplices, and those who are profiting in this process.