On 24 December 2023, Law No. 31964 was published, which extended the definitive deadline for university professors to comply with the requirements to obtain the master's and doctoral degrees necessary for university teaching until 30 December 2025. The deadline, which originally expired on 10 July 2019, has been repeatedly extended.
On 9 July 2014, Law No. 30220 ("University Law") was published in the Official Gazette El Peruano and became effective the following day. Article 82 of this law regulates the requirements to teach at university:
Art. 82°: Requisitos para el ejercicio de la docencia. - |
To teach at university, as an ordinary and contracted university professor, it is mandatory to possess the following: |
82.1 A master's degree for teaching at the undergraduate level. |
82.2 A master's or doctoral degree for teaching at master's degrees and specialization programs. |
82.3 A doctoral degree for teaching at the doctoral level. |
Extraordinary professors may teach at any level of university education, and their characteristics are established by the statutes of each university. |
By means of the Third Transitory Complementary Provision[1] of Law No. 30220, professors were given a five-year term to adapt to the new requirements. This term only applies to those who were professors as of 10 July 2014, the date of entry into force of Law No. 30220. This term originally expired on 10 July 2019, but the Constitutional Court decided that the term would begin to be computed as of 15 November 2015, extending the adaptation period to 15 November 2020.
On 10 May 2020, due to the pandemic, Legislative Decree No. 1496 was published, which extended the deadline for compliance to 30 November 2021[2].
Finally, on 24 December 2023, Law No. 31964 was published, which we commented on in this alert. Law No. 31964 extends the deadline for professors to comply with the requirements set forth in Article 82 of Law No. 30220 for teaching until 30 December 2025[3]. This deadline extension only applies to professors who were already teaching as of 10 July 2014, when Law No. 30220 was enacted, since at no time is the scope of the law extended to all professors.
In other words, if today a university hires a professor who did not teach as a university professor as of 10 July 2014, this professor must comply with the requirements of Article 82 of Law No. 30220, since no adaptation period applies to them. On the other hand, and unless otherwise provided by the university's internal regulations, a professor who was already teaching as of 10 July 2014 may continue to do so without a master's or doctoral degree (as appropriate), since they are still within the adaptation period until 30 December 2025.
The original deadline caused numerous universities to modify their statutes and regulations, incorporating the Third Transitory Complementary Provision of Law No. 30220 into their internal regulations. However, the total period granted will currently be more than 11 years (2025), far exceeding the original deadline (2019). In view of this, we suggest that universities –public and private– adapt their internal regulations and bylaws, to be in line with the new legislation and deadlines.
[1] "Third Transitory Complementary Provision — Term for the adaptation of public and private university professors
Teachers who do not meet the requirements when this law enters into force have up to five years to adapt to the law; otherwise, they are considered in the category that corresponds to them or their contractual relationship concludes, as appropriate."
[2] “Article 4 — Extension of the term for the adaptation of teachers of public and private universities
The term for teachers of public and private universities to adapt to the requirements of Law No. 30220, the University Law, established in the Third Transitory Complementary Provision of this law, has been extended until 30 November 2021; otherwise, they are considered in the category that corresponds to them or their contractual relationship concludes, as appropriate”.
[3] “Article 4 — Extension of the adaptation period for teachers of public and private universities
The term for teachers of public and private universities to adapt to the requirements of Law 30220, the University Law, has been extended. To this end, they have a definitive deadline of 30 December 2025 to obtain their academic degrees […]”.
