“It is crucial that this discriminatory practice ends in Portugal, allowing private institutions to recognise academic degrees and higher education diplomas awarded by foreign higher education institutions, on an equal basis with their state counterparts”, writes the president of Association in a statement.

At issue is the legal regime for the recognition of academic degrees and higher education diplomas awarded by foreign higher education institutions, which stipulates that the three forms of recognition (automatic, level and specific) must be requested from public universities or polytechnics.

According to APESP, this limitation exists despite the fact that the association itself is represented on the Commission for the Recognition of Foreign Degrees and Diplomas of the Directorate-General for Higher Education and that private universities grant the degrees of licentiate, master and doctor.

“They can award, but cannot assess and recognise, diplomas and academic degrees from universities in other countries,” the statement said.

Cited in the statement, the president of APESP considers that the situation is “unfair, arbitrary, anti-academic” and results from mainly ideological discrimination, which harms private universities and polytechnics.

“The recognition of degrees and diplomas is an important procedure for academic mobility”, says António Almeida-Dias, underlining their importance in the access of foreign students to masters and doctorates, and for the recruitment of foreign professors.