The Board of Directors of the National Superintendency of Higher University Education (Sunedu) made official this Monday Vicente Paul Espinoza Santillán as the entity’s new superintendent, formalizing a change in the leadership of the body in charge of supervising the country’s university system.
Espinoza Santillán has a PhD in Law, a master’s degree in Governance and Organizational Development, and a lawyer from the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega University.
He also has a specialization in Constitutional Law from the University of Salamancaone of the oldest study houses in Europe.
In his professional career he has held positions linked to union practice and public management.
He was president of the Board of Deans of the Bar Associations of Peru and, before his election as superintendent, he served as representative of the Ministry of Education on the Board of Directors of the National Superintendency of Higher University Education.
Sunedu reported that this designation reaffirms the commitment to strengthen the functioning of its Board of Directors and to continue promoting institutional management aimed at improving the university higher educational service, within the current regulatory framework and in defense of the rights of the university community.
However, the election of Espinoza Santillán occurs amid political questions.
THE QUESTIONS
Sources consulted by Peru21 They point out that regarding his previous management there are allegations related to alleged accelerated licensing of universities, events that, according to these sources, would not have occurred during his performance.
The designation was also interpreted as a movement that prevented sectors linked to the Alliance for Progress (APP) from assuming control of Sunedu.
The election of the new superintendent took place after the resignation of Manuel Castillo Venegas and in a scenario of internal disputes in the Board of Directors, where other candidacies were being evaluated, including that of Susana Edita Paredes Díaz, interim superintendent and APP activist.
The Association of National Universities of Peru (AUNAP) rejected the designation and warned that the process was carried out without the participation of representatives of public universities.
In a statement, the organization indicated that it will ignore any appointment of the Sunedu superintendent that is approved without the effective intervention of the legitimate representatives of public universities and professional associations, whose participation is scheduled for February 2026.
Likewise, he questioned the haste with which the election was carried out and warned about an alleged lack of knowledge of the democratic will of these sectors, which – as they indicated – fuels the suspicion that there would be other interests behind the appointment.
Furthermore, they urged the Ministry of Education and the groups identified by various media as responsible for this situation to speak out publicly, and urged the prime minister and the Concytec authorities to remember that silence, in this context, affects the credibility of the State vis-à-vis the university system.
