A court of the Faculty of Information Sciences of the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) has decided not to award a place in this study center after suspending the only applicant, who had reported irregularities during the selection process.
The oral test, the last part of the selection process, had been repeated three times by order first of the Rectorate and then of a Madrid court, which understood that it did not conform to the regulations. Despite the repetitions and accusations of who had ended up being the only candidate for the position, the result has always been the same: the teacher who avoided favoritism is left without the position.
Miguel Álvarez Peralta was teaching at the University of Castilla-La Mancha when he decided he wanted to return to his native Madrid.
It was 2020 and a position had been announced, with a modest but fixed contract, at the university where he graduated, Complutense. But soon after applying he discovered the department had a favorite for the process. The pressures began: WhatsApp messages, stolen documents or attempts to disqualify him with the aim of withdrawing from the selection and awarding the place to the beast – as the person whom the department wants to benefit is known -. Peralta did not flinch and maintained his candidacy. In the evaluation phase of the curriculum and the merits, he got a few tenths more than his rival. He also passed the subsequent interview, but with a worse grade than her.
Convinced that his profile was more suitable to what was requested, Álvarez Peralta denounced the “cheats” that he considered to be being committed in an infoLibre column and took the case to television.
With this background media pressure, the supposed favorite withdrew. He was alone in the competition, but this did not mean that he was given the place, as was demonstrated when the interview was repeated by order of the university itself: the court changed the evaluation criteria to convert the score of 1 .2 of the first call in a 0.8. As calculated on a maximum of two points, the candidacy of the complaining teacher was suspended and the position vacant.
An interview repeated three times
Álvarez Peralta then took the case to ordinary justice, which ordered the interview to be repeated once more, this time with the criteria in accordance with the regulations. This third defense had the same standards as the first, which passed, and even a different court because one of the original members had died and another was disqualified due to a defect in form. It didn’t matter: the teacher got a 0.7. Suspend again.
Álvarez Peralta considers that the score difference that ultimately leaves him out is “a punishment for having publicly denounced” the situation.
“It’s a warning to boaters: if you dare to report you will suffer severe economic, emotional and professional consequences and costs”, says Álvarez Peralta, who believes that this sends a message for “people to respect favouritism”.
The Complutense did not want to assess the case, but it did explain what the procedure is usually for the places that are left empty.
This is not yet the case for the position in Information Sciences; the teacher will claim to try a fourth repetition of the interview or the disqualification of the court “for his behavior”. If the Rectorate denies your request, the process would be definitively closed. In this situation, the budgeted item would be available for a possible new call for the same place or it would be allocated to another center, since the funding does not come from the departments but is general, they explain to the UCM.
Between all this process of claims and denunciations, Álvarez Peralta managed to return to his hometown: he has been working since February of last year at the Universitat Rei Joan Carles with a contract similar to that offered by Complutense.
He is immersed in a criminal process in which the ex-head of the convening department of the square accuses him of defamation for publishing the screenshots in which he pressures the complaining teacher to withdraw from the competition. In addition to this pending trial, the Madrid native is considering starting another one: he is consulting with lawyers about the possibility of suing the Information Sciences court for prevarication.
