"The effort that the country is making in those over 23 years of age is of the greatest utility and necessity," defends Mello Sampayo, rector of the Instituto Superior Dom Afonso III (INUAF), in Loulé, which opens the candidacies on March 19. for entrance exams to higher education for students over the age of 23, whether or not they have completed the 12th year.
The INUAF rector calculates “that at least 10 percent of higher education students come from the 23+ years. And it has a great advantage: in the classrooms, young people with a different attitude have come to be. They come to learn something useful for their life and have a speech in class, which makes others wake up to reality».
These tests consist of an assessment of the student's curriculum, an interview and theoretical and/or practical assessment tests.
Candidates successful in these tests can apply for admission to the institute's degree courses, ranging from Psychology to Physical Education and Sports, including Marketing and Advertising Management, Bio-Resource Management, Management, Multimedia, Management and Real Estate Mediation , Tourism Management, Sustainable Tourism and Music Training.
Mello Sampayo also refers that the admission of those over 23 is “essential for the country, but these gentlemen must have adequate university education, more flexible – Portuguese law authorizes [the attendance of several curricular units in several universities], but the universities do not make it more flexible'.
Taking advantage of the potential of the Bologna process, future INUAF students will be able to request that they be credited, in the course they choose, with the experiences, knowledge or skills acquired throughout their lives before entering higher education, which can shorten the courses to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the case.
“Entry into university by demonstrating the skills acquired throughout life is very important and has meant that the population that attends higher education has increased in all universities”, says the institution's dean.
For Mello Sampayo, the admission of students over 23 years of age is extremely important, even pointing to the need to allow access to these students at 21 years of age.
“Statistics clearly show that Portuguese human resources in general in initial level training up to the 12th grade, polytechnic and university education, are well below European averages,” he recalls.
At a time of crisis, investing in training must be a priority. “It has been proven that higher education increases the likelihood of employment. But it remains to be seen whether the training being given to young people is creating wealth or promoting the consumption of wealth. There is a mismatch between the country's needs and the training offered”, he says, referring that this adjustment between the needs of companies and training has been one of the priorities of this educational establishment.
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