Legal Regimes of UPM and MUT approved in the final reading

Bills relating to the Polytechnic University of Macau (UPM) and the Macao University of Tourism (MUT), the former Macao Institute for Tourism Studies, have been approved at the Legislative Assembly in their final reading on Monday afternoon.

During the debate, lawmakers mostly focused their attention on the recruitment of foreign teachers as well as the recruitment program that will allow the universities to offer higher wages than the ones provided in the civil servants’ regime.

In response, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Elsie Ao Ieong explained that the wages are related to the careers and level of the teachers up to the level of Research Professor and so they are more related to the salaries in force worldwide for this kind of position than with the civil servants’ careers.

The new regimes of the UPM and MUT, which also change the name of the second institution, will enter into force from April 1 this year.

Ao Ieong explained that the change in the designation aims to uniformize the designation and contribute to the international reputation of the university.

She also said that the government wants the MUT to have greater integration with the neighboring areas and particularly with Hengqin, with the expectation that a new campus for the university will be built there, although she did not provide a concrete timeframe for the development of this project.