After two unsuccessful sessions, the Board of Directors of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the UNLP finally met during the morning of this Good Friday and re-elected Juan Basualdo Farjat as dean.
In this way, he will continue in office, now for the period 2022-2026. After several negotiations with the student body, the candidate was able to get the eleven votes he needed to be reelected.
As reported 0221.com.ar, the last session on Wednesday by the cloisters of Heads of Practical Works and Graduates, made up of one and two members respectively, did not give a quorum. But for this new opportunity, and as established in article 102 of the UNLP Statute, sessions could be held “with a simple majority of its members.”
It should be noted that the Board of Directors of each academic unit is made up of 16 members: seven teachers, a head of practical work, two graduate or graduate assistants, five students and a non-teaching representative.
During Monday’s session, Basualdo Farjat had seven adhesions from the teaching staff and one from the non-teaching staff, but the students had not given him the go-ahead. Through his social networks, they explained that the date of the dean’s vote for the period 2022-2026 was very premature.
After discussing it in an assembly, they decided not to give a quorum, and in turn they asked the authorities for a meeting so that their list of claims could be heard: they asked for more teachers and face-to-face classes to contain the gap (construction and quality of courses) that shot up in the faculty after the opening of admission to students without a restrictive exam. With the commitment to respond to these demands, the student body decided to support Basualdo’s re-election.
However, on Wednesday the cloisters of Heads of Practical Works and Graduates did not give a quorum. The second unsuccessful vote in Medicine coincided with a march carried out by members of the Nutrition career campus, which has been adding members at an increasing rate. The protest was from teachers who work under the modality of “intern” or “tutor” and who actually teach classes, a type of hiring that they define as “absolutely precarious” since they are not appointed to any position.
In the midst of political tension, the session was kicked off again: this time the councilors were summoned for this April 15 at 9, and everything was resolved there. Before the vote, Basualdo Farjat signed the commitment to attend to the demands of the students.
The other faculties that already have deans for the next four years are: Veterinary Sciences, Astronomical and Geophysical Sciences, Economic Sciences, Dentistry, Computer Science, Engineering and Architecture.