Paraguay
The Senate of Paraguay will debate a bill to halt new universities and Law and Medicine programs
Following the conviction of Hernán Rivas, the Upper House was left facing a new debate over oversight in higher education. Senator Yolanda Paredes said she will seek urgent consideration of an initiative that proposes a five-year moratorium.
The conviction of Hernán Rivas reignited in the Senate of Paraguay the debate over oversight mechanisms in higher education and the responsibility of the institutions that took part in the issuance and validation of questioned documents.
According to ABC Color, Senator Yolanda Paredes, of Cruzada Nacional, will seek urgent consideration for the October 7 session of a bill that proposes suspending for five years the authorization of new private universities and institutes, as well as halting the creation of Law and Medicine programs, faculties, branches and campuses.
The initiative was introduced by Paredes and backed by Celeste Amarilla, Esperanza Martínez, Rafael Filizzola, Rubén Velázquez, Líder Amarilla, Éver Villalba, Ignacio Iramain and Eduardo Nakayama. According to the statement of reasons cited by ABC Color, the proposal does not seek to close existing universities or invalidate degrees already issued, but rather to use that period to review the academic offer, strengthen oversight and improve accreditation systems.
The bill also includes the creation of a National Public Registry of Programs and Graduates, with information on institutions, programs, authorizations, accreditations and lists of graduates.
ABC Color reported that Paredes demanded that the parliamentary commission investigating irregular degrees, chaired by Patrick Kemper, move toward concrete results. The lawmaker also pointed to Universidad Sudamericana, where Rivas graduated, and argued that it must be determined who took part in the production and validation of the questioned documentation. She even warned that she could leave the commission if the investigation does not focus on that institution.
Still according to the Paraguayan outlet, the bill states that Paraguay has 58 universities created by law, 10 public and 48 private. In Law, it cites ANEAES data indicating that in April 2026 there were 191 authorized degree programs and 33 accredited ones. In Medicine, it adds that there are 43 active programs in 25 universities, of which 22 have accreditation in the National Model and three also have accreditation in the ARCU-SUR system.
The proposal provides that students continue their studies and that institutions already authorized maintain their academic activities, research and accreditation processes. It also contemplates an exception for university-creation projects that had already formally entered Congress with an open file at the time of any eventual entry into force of the law.
ABC Color also recalled that two years ago the Senate had already considered a similar initiative to suspend for five years the creation of new Medicine programs. In that vote there were 18 votes in favor and 17 against, but the 20 needed among the 39 senators present were not reached.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with assistance from artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this event.
