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Portuguese university given deadline to revoke "irregular degrees"

Xinhua, April 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

Portugal's largest private university has been given a deadline to revoke degrees granted on an irregular basis, to avoid losing its license, Portuguese media reported on Wednesday.

Portugal's ministry of education on March 24 gave Lisbon's Lusofona university 15 days to revoke the degrees awarded to 152 students who studied there between the period from 2006 to 2013, Portuguese newspaper Espresso reported.

According to Espresso, the students received favorable treatment and were given degrees based on their previous professional experience.

This comes three years after former minister of parliamentary affairs Miguel Relvas, who resigned in April 2013, faced allegations he had received his degree in Political Science and International Relations from that same university without completing all course credits.

Education Minister Nuno Crato called on Portugal's General Inspectorate of Education to open an inquiry, which analyzed 425 accreditation processes and concluded that 152 were irregular, including the degree of Relvas.

Lusofona has until April 8 to cancel all 152 degrees and the university has told Espresso that 75 academic qualifications have already been "declared invalid" or "are in the process of being invalidated." Endit