The students affected by the disappearance of your academic records in the University of San Carlos of Guatemala (Usac) They affirmed that they will exhaust the administrative route to find out the reasons why they were eliminated from the system of University Registration and Statistics, while they go to the Human Rights Ombudsman (PDH) so that their status as students is restored.
A student of the School of Communication Scienceswho asked to protect his identity for security reasons, explained this Monday, July 20, that he will present the memorial requested by the university authorities and will wait for an official response. He indicated that the objective is to obtain an explanation as to why his data was deleted from the system and to know on what basis that decision was made.
“I hope to exhaust the administrative part. In my case I am going to present a memorial and wait for a response,” express.
The student assured that the situation constitutes a form of retaliation against those who have expressed a critical stance towards the administration of the rector Walter Mazariegos and stated that it seeks to send a message to the rest of the university community.
“It is a form of repression to silence us and give us academic death to use us as an example: ‘If you do this, the same thing will happen to you.’ It is a form of criminalization using administrative means,” he stated.
The students estimate that between 40 and 50 people from different faculties and non-faculty schools They are in a similar situation, although they indicated that several have preferred not to make their identity public for fear of reprisals.
While some They began the administrative process by submitting memorials addressed to the Department of Registration and Statistics to request an explanation for the disappearance of their files, they also maintain efforts with the PDH, from which they expect support for a possible violation of the right to education, as it is the only public university in the country.
They report loss of license plates
Jennifer de la Cruz, student of Rightnoticed that her registration disappeared overnight when she tried to assign herself courses for the semester and the system told her that she was not registered, despite having her proof of registration.
When he went to Registry and Statistics, he assured that the authorities confirmed that his information no longer appeared on the platform and that, after several attempts to obtain an explanation, they asked him to present a memorial. “It is an issue that depends directly on Registry and Statistics and their will to solve it. The worrying thing is that they are harming us because we cannot assign ourselves the semester,” he stated.
Along with Carlos Barrios, another student from Right affected, He has already submitted a memorial to that body to request an explanation for the disappearance of his records. According to them, a legal advisor initially told them that the problem would be related to the seizure of the central campus in 2022, an argument that they reject because they consider that it is not related to the facts.
According to the students, Registry and Statistics informed them that He will issue a response to the memorial until August.
“They told us that the period would be approximately one month to give us a response, but that this does not mean a favorable resolution, since it will depend on the situation why we do not appear in the Registry and Statistics system,” Barrios explained.
The students also reported that they will continue the process before the PDH, an institution from which they expect support and monitoring for a possible violation of the right to education, taking into account that the University of San Carlos is the only public university in the country.
They indicated that they want the Attorney General’s Office to verify the guarantees so that they can continue their studies while their academic situation is resolved. The PDH confirmed that it is following up on a complaint.
Legal actions
In parallel, the deputy José Chic reported that he filed a complaint with the Public Ministry against him head of the Department of Registration and Statistics of the USAC, Bryan Fuentes Paz, for possible crimes of deletion, concealment or destruction of documents, destruction of computer records and abuse of authority.
The legislator agreed that there are more than 40 students from different centers, including regional extensions, who have reported that they disappeared from institutional records. without there being an administrative procedure or an expulsion resolution that justified this measure.
“There is no cancellation of registration as such because there is no administrative expulsion process. What happened was that the record was erased, and that is even more serious because it seems that they were never students of the University of San Carlos,” he stated.
Chic explained that the PDH would have to respond to a possible violation of the right to education and other fundamental rights. He added that, in addition to the support that this institution can provide, the management seeks to exhaust the internal channels provided for by the legislation.
The deputy said he hopes that the MP will carry out an investigation “real and serious” to determine the responsibilities of the officials who administer the Registration and Statistics system.
The PDH confirmed that, so far, has received a complaint related to the disappearance of academic records, for which it has already initiated an investigation file.
In addition, he reported that he accompanied a student who could not enter the campus to present her memorial to the Registry and Statistics, an intervention that finally allowed the university to receive the documentation.
Government response questioned
Regarding the Executive’s position, Chic considered that the students’ questions about the lack of institutional support are legitimate.
Although he acknowledged that the President Bernardo Arévalo spoke publicly and affirmed that the rights to education, demonstration and due process cannot be suspended while the Constitutional Court resolves the challenges regarding the election of the rector, the deputy maintained that the Government’s actions have not been sufficient.
“We have seen the president evading this issue and the function he should be fulfilling. In any democratic country he would have a much more forceful position of condemnation of what is happening,” he stated.
He also regretted that during the recent visit of the rapporteur for Guatemala of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a space was not promoted to document the students’ complaints within the international organization’s report.
From the perspective of one of the students who protected her name, what happens at Usac could transcend the university environment.
“What is happening now with the USAC is a reflection of what will happen in the country. They feel free and impunity to do so and it can happen to any citizen with any of their records in any other government institution. It is an example of the repercussion that it can have at a general level with our records in any other institution,” he said.
Because the USAC does not have a communication link to respond to press requests, this medium reviewed its official channels. As of the afternoon of July 18, the university had not released any statement or video addressing allegations about students who cannot enroll due to the disappearance of their records.
Read also: USAC-DIRE condemns administrative sanctions against students who oppose Walter Mazariegos