The investigation into fake university degrees at Paraguay's Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC) has already identified more than 300 falsified documents, with estimates that the scheme could involve hundreds of cases. Prosecutor Teresa Sosa Laconich, who is leading the investigation for the Public Ministry, stated that the number of fake diplomas under analysis has more than doubled since the initial report of 145 cases made by the MEC in June.
According to the investigation, MEC officials used these fake degrees to obtain high-level positions and inflated salaries, exceeding 15 million Paraguayan guaranis per month, including bonuses for specializations, master's, or doctoral degrees that they did not possess. The prosecutor highlighted that 90% of the fraudulent diplomas used the logo of the Universidad Autónoma de Asunción (UAA), which denies having issued the documents and claims its letterhead was used irregularly by third parties.
The scheme, which had been operating for about three decades, involved two main groups: people who paid for degrees without completing the required coursework, and students from the interior of the country who, after paying enrollment and tuition fees at higher education institutes, were deceived with irregular registrations processed through universities. Sosa Laconich explained that the registration of these degrees in the MEC system was done in record time, violating resolutions that require minimum processing periods of one month, indicating the participation of internal officials with privileged access to the system.
Education Minister Luis Ramírez reported a possible attempt to sabotage the MEC's computer system, with the installation of a "cutter" to prevent the identification of the IP addresses of the users responsible for the irregular registrations. During audits, approximately 130,000 irregular transactions were detected in the system.
Currently, 17 higher education institutions, including eight private universities, the Universidad Nacional de Asunción (UNA), and ten teacher training institutes, are under investigation by the National Council of Higher Education (Cones). The list includes names such as the Universidad Metropolitana de Asunción (UMA), Universidad del Chaco (Unichaco), and the Private Higher Technical Institute “Santa Teresita”.
Senator and former Education Minister Blanca Ovelar, of the Colorado Party (ANR), defended the MEC, arguing that the responsibility for issuing the degrees lies with the universities and institutes, not the ministry, although she acknowledged the need to investigate possible internal control failures.