Last Tuesday the 23rd, the Board of Directors of the National Superintendency of Higher University Education (Sunedu) appointed Vicente Paul Espinoza Santillán as the new superintendent of the entitydespite the questions. Given this decision, The Association of National Universities of Peru rejected the designation and maintained that the process was carried out without the participation of the representatives of this institution.
“The public universities expressly communicate that they will ignore any appointment of a Sunedu superintendent that is approved tomorrow or on subsequent dates, if this is carried out without the effective participation of the legitimate representatives of the public universities and professional associations, scheduled for February 2026,” the statement reads.
YOU CAN SEE: JEE declares inadmissible list of Popular Renewal candidates to the Chamber of Deputies and Andean Parliament
Likewise, they questioned the rush to elect the superintendent and criticized the fact that the democratic will of the professional associations and public universities was not respected, which is why they suggested that there would be other interests behind this appointment.
“Various media outlets have pointed out the Ministry of Education and interest groups as directly responsible for this scenario. It is appropriate that, if this is not true, they come out to deny it publicly and categorically. Likewise, the Prime Minister, Ernesto Álvarez, as well as Ernesto Atién (Concytec), have the duty to speak out immediately, since their silence, in these circumstances, is extremely serious and compromises the credibility of the State in the face of the university system.”
Sunedu elects new superintendent
Vicente Paul Espinoza Santillán has a doctorate in Law, a master’s degree in Governance and Organizational Development and a lawyer from the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega University. His appointment has generated criticism due to hiscloseness with former superintendent Manuel Castilloa period in which changes were promoted to the university licensing model that various sectors have described as auniversity counter-reform.
Likewise, Ojo Público reported that the couple of Espinoza Santillán’s son and his father-in-law register service orders in Sunedu that exceed 100,000 soles.
Sergio Espinoza, son of the current superintendent, had a romantic relationship with María Lilia Alarcón, who received nine service orders from the entity for an amount exceeding 54,000 soles, between June 2023 and September 2024.
In addition, Rubén Salcedo, Espinoza’s father-in-law, obtained two service orders at Sunedu for more than 60,000 soles between March and July 2023. Although these contracts were finalized before Espinoza assumed duties at the institution, the media warned that Salcedo had registeredat least 17 visits to the then superintendent Manuel Castillo.
