Nearly half the classroom has taken these courses multiple times.
En la Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería del Perú, dos cursos del noveno ciclo de Ingeniería Sanitaria —Tratamiento de Aguas Residuales y Abastecimiento de Agua— se han convertido en umbrales que determinan quién llega a graduarse y quién no. Impartidos por el mismo docente y marcados por calificaciones consistentemente bajas, estos cursos condensan una tensión antigua en la educación técnica: la línea difusa entre el rigor que forma ingenieros y el obstáculo que simplemente los detiene. Un estudiante que alzó la voz desde su canal de YouTube no solo describió una experiencia personal, sino que puso nombre a una experiencia colectiva que muchos reconocen pero pocos se atreven a nombrar.
- Dos cursos del noveno ciclo funcionan como filtros institucionales que han obligado a decenas de estudiantes a repetirlos hasta tres veces antes de poder graduarse.
- El mismo profesor dicta ambas materias y es conocido por otorgar calificaciones que rozan el mínimo aprobatorio, convirtiendo el sistema de notas en un obstáculo tan grande como el contenido mismo.
- La acumulación de intentos fallidos no es solo un trámite académico: retrasa la graduación, agota los recursos económicos y genera una carga psicológica que se intensifica con cada nueva matrícula.
- Un estudiante decidió romper el silencio a través de YouTube, describiendo los exámenes finales como experiencias de sabor agridulce y revelando que casi la mitad del salón ha repetido estos cursos.
- La denuncia abre una pregunta que la propia universidad debería responder: ¿estos cursos forman ingenieros preparados o simplemente los demoran mediante una filosofía de calificación que prioriza la exclusión sobre el aprendizaje?
Ingresar a la Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería es difícil. Permanecer en ella, más aún. Un estudiante de Ingeniería Sanitaria lo explicó con claridad desde su canal de YouTube: hay dos cursos en el noveno ciclo del programa que funcionan menos como espacios de aprendizaje y más como filtros institucionales. Sus nombres son Tratamiento de Aguas Residuales y Abastecimiento de Agua, y ambos son enseñados por el mismo docente, conocido por calificaciones que raramente superan el mínimo aprobatorio. En la UNI, un cinco es pasar. Obtener algo más se siente como un privilegio.
Lo que convierte a estos cursos en verdaderos cuellos de botella no es únicamente la complejidad del contenido —que es real y exigente— sino la combinación de esa dificultad con una filosofía de calificación que empuja las notas hacia el piso. El estudiante señaló que casi la mitad de sus compañeros ha tomado estos cursos más de una vez, y que algunos han necesitado hasta tres intentos para aprobar. Cada repetición no es un simple trámite: significa más tiempo en la universidad, más dinero invertido y una presión psicológica que crece con cada intento fallido.
La universidad presenta estos cursos como una prueba de preparación profesional: quien los supera demuestra estar listo para ejercer la ingeniería en campo. En ese sentido, cumplen una función legítima. Pero el testimonio del estudiante sugiere que la dificultad no siempre proviene del material, sino del criterio con que se evalúa. Hay una diferencia entre un curso que desafía a dominar conocimientos complejos y uno donde la nota baja es casi una constante independiente del desempeño.
Para quienes transitan este programa, el mensaje práctico es claro: hay que planificar la posibilidad de repetir estos cursos, reservar tiempo, dinero y energía emocional. El prestigio de la UNI se construye sobre exigencia, pero la pregunta que queda flotando es si esa exigencia, en estos casos, forma mejores ingenieros o simplemente los retrasa.
Getting into Peru's National University of Engineering is hard. Staying in is harder. A student from the university's Sanitary Engineering program recently laid bare the academic gauntlet that separates those who will graduate as engineers from those who won't: two courses that function less as instruction than as institutional filters, designed to winnow the field.
The student, speaking through his YouTube channel, identified the two courses by name: Wastewater Treatment and Water Supply. Both are taken in the ninth cycle of the program—late enough that students have already invested years of work, yet late enough that failure means starting over. The courses share another distinction: the same professor teaches both, and that professor has earned a reputation for grades that cluster at the bottom of the passing scale. A five—the minimum passing mark at UNI—is the norm. Anything higher feels like a gift.
What makes these courses function as filters is not their intellectual content alone, though that content is genuinely difficult. It is the combination of rigor, the grading philosophy, and the sheer volume of students who fail. The student described the final exams as having a different flavor than other courses—bitter and sweet at once. Nearly half the classroom, he noted, has taken these courses multiple times. Some students have enrolled three times before finally passing. That repetition is not a minor inconvenience; it delays graduation, extends the time a student spends in the program, and creates a psychological weight that compounds with each attempt.
The university frames these courses as a test of readiness for professional practice. If you can pass Wastewater Treatment and Water Supply—if you can reach that elusive ten, the highest mark at UNI—then you are deemed prepared to work as an engineer in the field. The courses are not electives or general education requirements. They are the capstone of a specific discipline, taken only by those pursuing this particular path. In that sense, they do serve a gatekeeping function: they separate those truly prepared for the work ahead from those who are not.
But the student's testimony also suggests something else. The consistency of low grades, the high failure rate, the need for multiple attempts—these patterns raise a question about whether the courses are genuinely difficult or whether they are made difficult by design. There is a difference between a course that challenges students to master complex material and a course where the grading philosophy itself becomes the primary obstacle. The student seemed to suggest that the professor's approach to grading—the tendency toward low marks regardless of performance—is as much a part of the filter as the subject matter itself.
For students in the program, the practical effect is clear: plan for the possibility of taking these courses more than once. Budget time, money, and emotional energy accordingly. Understand that passing is not a matter of understanding the material alone, but of navigating a specific professor's expectations and grading standards. The university's prestige, built on rigorous admissions and rigorous coursework, rests partly on courses like these. Whether that rigor serves students or simply delays them is a question the institution itself may need to examine.
Notable Quotes
These courses are terrifying filters. Nearly half the classroom has taken them multiple times. Some have needed three attempts just to pass and graduate.— UNI Sanitary Engineering student, via YouTube
The professor grades consistently low—mostly fives—regardless of how well you perform. It's not feedback; it's the system.— UNI Sanitary Engineering student, via YouTube
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would a university design courses specifically to fail students? That seems counterproductive.
It's not always intentional design. But when a course becomes known for low grades and high repetition rates, it starts to function that way regardless of intent. The professor becomes the filter, not just the material.
So the student is saying the professor grades harshly on purpose?
Not necessarily on purpose. But the pattern is consistent enough that students know what to expect. A five is the standard grade. That's not feedback; that's a ceiling.
What happens to a student who fails twice? Do they just keep trying?
They keep trying, or they leave the program. Some students have taken these courses three times. That's years of their life, thousands in tuition, all for two courses.
And the university accepts this? Doesn't it look bad for graduation rates?
The university probably sees it differently. These are ninth-cycle courses. By then, you've already proven you belong. The courses are meant to separate the truly ready from the rest. Whether that's fair or just harsh is the real question.
So passing these courses is basically the final test before you're an engineer?
Exactly. If you get a ten—the highest mark—you're done. You graduate. You're an engineer. Everything before that was preparation for this moment.