The Government "is not fulfilling" the contract it signed, in June 2016, with the Higher Education Institutions (IES) and, therefore, the University of the Algarve "is at risk of closing the year 2018" in a financial situation 'more fragile than in 2017'. In total, revealed Paulo Águas, dean of the Algarve academy, "500 euros are missing" promised by António Costa's executive.
The situation is, for the top leader of the University of Algarve, "very simple" to explain.
In a document, signed in June 2016, the Government committed, with the Universities, that «the allocations of the State Budget (OE)» for Higher Education institutions would not be, in the following years, «less than those registered for 2016 ».
In other words: the OE amount for the HEIs could never be, after 2016, lower than that year.
These transfers should also include the 'amounts corresponding to increases in salary charges for the public administration that the Government may determine, including those arising from the increase in the value of the guaranteed minimum monthly remuneration and the amounts necessary to implement legislative changes with a financial impact that may be approved'.
However, despite this commitment, «as of today, the value of transfers from the OE guaranteed by the end of the year is more than 100 euros lower than in 2017», said Paulo Águas, dean of UAlg, this Wednesday Thursday, December 12, at the 39th anniversary ceremony of the Algarve Academy, in which the Honoris Causa Doctorate was awarded to Joaquim Romero Magalhães.
In total, since this commitment was signed, «500 thousand euros are missing, resulting from the impacts of legislative changes», guaranteed Paulo Águas.
The request for the amount has even been “already requested” to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, which, upon learning of the situation, “referred to Finance”.
It is certain that UAlg continues to “wait for an answer” and the situation is “desperate”. "It consumes a lot of energy that could be channeled into value-creating activities," said Dean Paulo Águas with regret.
This situation arises in a context in which the academy increased revenues by «approximately 7%, breaking a cycle of gradual reduction seen in previous years', in a 'growth determined by the increase in fee and project revenues'.
Even so, and despite the «measures to contain expenditure at the level of staff and general expenses, the University of Algarve runs the risk of closing the year 2018 in a more fragile situation than in 2017», according to Paulo Águas.
In his speech, the UAlg rector also criticized "the formula defined for compensating the reduction in the maximum tuition fee".
«It is not reasonable for the compensation per student to be differentiated. For example, it is expected that all HEIs in the metropolitan area of Lisbon will receive compensation of 207 euros per student, while the University of Algarve will receive 134 euros per student," he said.
Despite these criticisms, the rector said that the balance of the first year in office is "positive": the number of enrolled students increased, in the 2017/2018 school year, as well as the percentage of foreign students, fThe application for the creation of a Technological Pole was presented and the indicators in the research area «are also promising».
For 2019, the academy will work on processes such as completion of the regularization process for precarious workers.
In fact, at the time of the academic parade of teachers, a group of precarious scholarship holders demonstrated, raising posters of revolt.
"The tenders will start to be opened in the 1st quarter of 2019. The opening of all the tenders depends on funds that have not yet been transferred and we do not yet know when they will be", explained the dean.
Added to this are other projects such as beginning of the transformation of the Superior School of Health into university residence, the presentation to the General Council of a proposal to change the organic regulations of the Services, the start of campaigns for through crowdfunding and the launch of the 1st edition of the UAlg Participatory Budget.
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