By means of Law no. 12, of 7 July 1913, and after a long debate in the Republic’s Congress, the Ministry of Public Education was created, undertaking the competencies regarding education that were previously under the responsibility both of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Development.
The new Ministry integrated a Secretariat General, the Council for Public Education and six sectoral government departments geared to Primary, Secondary, University, Industrial and Commercial, Agricultural and Artistic Education.
Renamed in 1919, Directorate General for Higher Education, it was later, in 1929, associated to secondary and artistic education, as Directorate General for Higher, Secondary and Artistic Education. In 1930, it was dissociated from Secondary Education with the name Directorate General for Higher Education and Fine Arts with the corresponding scope of activities which it would keep until the reform of 1971-1973, when its scope was restricted, as it is today, to higher education.
Afonso Costa
Deputy Director
