The German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that there are too many graduates in Portugal, a view criticised by leading educational figures and politicians.
The rector of the University of Lisbon, the President of the Polytechnic Institute of Oporto and the president of the board of directors of the Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education (A3ES) all have reacted to Merkel’s assertion.
"That statement is profound nonsense. If we look at the statistics of those in our population with higher education, we find that the Portuguese percentage is substantially below the OECD average and below the European average," says Alberto Amaral, president of the board of the A3ES in an interview with Expresso today.
According to the latest data from Eurostat for 2013, Portugal has 17.6% of graduate level, while Germany has 25.1%.
Of the 28 European Union countries, the average is 25.3% of young people attaining degree level education.
In turn, the rector of the University of Lisbon, António Cruz Serra, regrets Merkel’s comments and said that they are far from the goals of European integration.
"About Chancellor Merkel’s statement, I only have one thing to say: Europe has an excess of leaders who are not up to the European project. I have nothing more to add. I find it regrettable."
Rosario Gamboa the president of the Oporto Poly said, "must we assume that Portugal should not aspire to the same levels of development and sustainability of other powers?" "Basically, this would mean the continuation of an economy of T-shirts and cheap labour, an economy of survival, not one of knowledge."
Gamboa points out that the current rate of graduates is still far from meeting the 40% target agreed in Agenda 2020, and added that better educational attainement amoung Portugal's workforce over the last 40 years is evident in the service industries, hospitals, culture and in Portugal's democratic stability.
Amaral said the biggest problem in Portugal continues to be the huge percentage of adults with minimal education.
In 2012, 62% of the population between 25 and 64-years old had minimal schooling, a figure vastly higher than Germany’s 14% and Finland’s 15%.
The German Chancellor specifically mentioned Portugal and Spain in her criticism, "To believe that higher education is the path to a successful career is a bad idea, but we will not convince countries like Spain and Portugal which have too many graduates of the benefits of vocational education."
Merkel was speaking at an event for the German Confederation of Employers' Associations.
