Prohibition on new medical courses lifted in Brazil

The ban on the opening of new medical courses in Brazil, which had been in force since 2018, ended this week.

Commonly named the “Moratorium on the Opening of Medical Courses”, this prohibition was implemented through Ordinance No. 328/2018, April, 5, 2018 of the Ministry of Education – MEC (“Ordinance No. 328/2018” published in April, 6, 2018) and remained effective for five years. The Ministry of Education justified the ban with a need for “quality control” in the training of medical professionals, mainly due to the large number of courses that had been created throughout the previous years.

While it remained effective, Ordinance No. 328/2018 banned the publication of public call notices to authorize new undergraduate medical courses and suspended requests to increase enrollment slots in such courses that are provided by higher education institutions linked to the federal education system. Subsequently, the moratorium resulted in the filing of numerous actions with the judiciary branch, requesting the opening of new courses and the increase enrollment slots for new students. In other words, the prohibition ultimately created an adverse effect, given that the Ordinance was overruled by judicial decisions, a fact that even the Minister of Education, Camilo Santana, acknowledged.

After lifting the ban and confirming that Ordinance No. 328/2018 will not be extended, the Ministry of Education might establish new regulations regarding the opening of courses, including publishing new notices or authorization systems that comply with specific criteria like ensuring the quality of education in the new medical courses and correcting the uneven distribution of medical professionals across all regions of Brazil.

It is also important to highlight that there was an attempt to regulate this matter at the end of 2022. However, on January 02, 2023, MEC enacted Ordinance No. 1/2023, repealing MEC Ordinance No. 1,061, of December 31, 2022, which had established the new regulatory framework for procedures of authorization, recognition, and renewal of medical courses in Brazil. As a result, previous regulations remained in force.

Demarest’s Public and Regulatory Law team is monitoring the updates of the sector and remains available to provide any further clarifications that may be necessary.