Rector of the University of Panama is accountable to the country

The rector of the University of Panama, Dr. Eduardo Flores Castro, presented to the country the Accountability report of his management as the highest authority of the first house of higher education, in compliance with both legal and ethical duties.
During the 2024 Accountability event, held at the Coclé Regional University Center, Flores Castro explained that the budget execution – as of today – of the budget assigned for this year is 81%.
Likewise, he indicated that for the next fiscal year, the university’s budget amounts to B/. 426 million of which B/. 356 million are destined for operation and B/. 70 million investment. It should be noted that, of this total, B/. 20 million are allocated to the payment of the thirteenth month, in compliance with the ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice.
Likewise, it showed that, as of October 2024, the student/teacher ratio is 18.3, while the student/administrative ratio is 18.4 – that is, the relationship between the number of students and staff. administrative that provides support or services at the Casa de Méndez Pereira.
“It is important to note that the funds granted to our University translate into tangible benefits for Panamanian society,” said the rector, who reiterated that, after a rigorous audit, the QS Intelligence Unit has accredited the excellence of the University of Panama with 3 stars. quality.
As part of good practices at the university, the highest authority added that the Academic Council approved that professors who hold positions of authority and/or administrative positions, with reduced workloads, teach postgraduate courses on an ad honorem basis, and also certified a total of 80 positions in competition for regular teacher.
To improve the academic skills of our graduates, he reported that the Academic Council approved the manual of procedures for the creation, updating and opening of careers.
As a significant success in academics, he highlighted that the Faculty of Electronic Computing and Communication has approved, in the Faculty Board, that, in their subsequent study programs, students must comply with one of the following certifications: Huawei, Oracle, Microsoft or Festo, as professional quality seals.
Likewise, he stated that 82 research grants valued at 750 thousand balboas were awarded to the best research projects presented by 32 professors and 50 students (23 postgraduate and 27 undergraduate) in the Call for Research Funds (CUFI-2023).
The University of Panama occupies first place nationally for the third consecutive year, in the AD Scientific Index 2025. This evaluation covers academic works from 218 countries and 21,808 universities, considering more than 1,350,000 scientists, using indices such as H, i10 and citation count criteria.
Also, the study house is positioned first in the Nature Index ranking, which evaluates institutional performance based on the quality of its publications. This ranking is based on two main metrics: ‘Count’ and ‘Share’, which measure the number and impact of publications in 146 highly prestigious health sciences journals.
In Panama, only seven institutions managed to qualify for this ranking, and the University of Panama has maintained first place for the third consecutive year.
The University of Panama continues to lead among the 32 universities in the country, according to the Web Metrics Ranking of Universities, prepared by the Higher Council for Scientific Research of Spain, managing to climb 126 points worldwide.
The rector was emphatic in pointing out that the exercise of transparency is fundamental for our institution, since it guides us on the path to converting the University into a model of public administration within the Republic of Panama.
“Accountability is not only an act of responsibility, but it also allows us to carry out a self-assessment of our management performance and communicate clearly and precisely the use of public resources that have been assigned to us.”