In a new chapter of the strike that began more than a month ago, students have now occupied the Central Administration building
Occupying the Central Administration building, students of University of Sao Paulo (USP) decided this Thursday the 26th to vote in favor of continuing the student strike that began on September 20th. Permanence in the stalemate state was defined by the countertaste (large majority).
There is a risk that university students who continue to strike until next week will fail due to absence. Next Wednesday, the 1st, a new meeting has been called to define the direction of the strike.
Last week the rector decided to maintain the academic timetable until December 22nd, without the possibility of making the dates more flexible or postponing the end of the semester to make up the lessons. “The rescheduling of lessons, if necessary, will be at the discretion of the teachers and units, considering their feasibility and respecting the academic calendar,” USP said in a statement on the 19th.
The rector has also established a maximum ceiling for class attendance based on the number of weeks each faculty is closed, as stated in a circular released on Tuesday 24th by the dean of university studies. For example: someone who has been paralyzed for a week can have a maximum attendance of 95% if they attend all lessons; For those who have been paralyzed for three weeks the maximum attendance percentage will be 84%.
However, for units that remain paralyzed for six weeks (the operation will be completed next week), undergraduate students will not be able to achieve a maximum class attendance of 68% by the end of the semester.
However, according to USP regulations, it is mandatory for university students to have an attendance percentage of at least 70%. In other words, in practice, once the extension of the strike is approved, the measure could lead to students failing the semester.
“If the units maintain the strike longer this week (for a total of six weeks of stop)“Students may fail for absence”, the rector specifies in a note. “For now we have no unity in this situation (who completed a six-week hiatus).“
The circular ended up further eroding the strikers’ relationship with the rectory. Students protested against the measure and occupied the Central Administration building. The demobilization of the picket will have to be negotiated with the rectory this Friday 27th.
Students argue that failing a semester can result in the loss of student retention benefits (see below) and will cause an overload of lessons in the next semesters, with many students enrolled in the same subject.
According to the university’s press office, part of the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Humanities (FFLCH) and the School of Letters, Sciences and Humanities (EACH) are still paralysed. “The remaining 40 schools and colleges of the university are functioning normally,” USP said through its advisory.
Currently, the students are in their fifth week of paralysis. If they had decided to resume activities starting from this Friday, they could have had a maximum attendance of 74% of lessons, according to information released by the Presidency. That is, they would remain within the 70% mandatory attendance limit.
Starting more than a month ago, the strike was approved to pressure the rectory for more teacher hiring and improvements in its student retention policy. The strikers also negotiated with the university management, which presented a series of commitments, including the hiring of more than a thousand teachers. Even so, the parties did not reach an agreement.
The measure could cause students to lose their scholarships
The Principal’s decision not to change the calendar and to fail students for absences was criticized by students and also by university professors. Students say the measure could result in the loss of benefits and scholarships that help low-income college students stay at USP.
According to University resolution number 8360, of December 2022, which establishes permanence assistance within the scope of the USP student permanence and education support policy (PAPFE), one of the conditions for university students to obtain the benefit granted and maintained is:
- Have obtained approval for grade and attendance in at least 20% (twenty percent) of the credits for which you are enrolled in the semester
- Having passed the attendance in at least 50% (fifty percent) of the subjects in which you are enrolled
And, according to this year’s announcement of the Program for Permanence and Support for Student Education (Papfe), the scholarship will be suspended for any beneficiary student who does not comply with the above requirements.
Teachers also criticize the measure and ask for its repeal
In a statement, the Association of Teachers of the University of São Paulo (Adusp) called the measure “draconian” and reported that the president of the university committee, Eduardo Donizeti Girotto, and the director of the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Sciences Human Resources (FFLCH), Paulo Martins, asked the Vice Rector to revoke the decision.
In a letter they state that “this measure, if put into practice, will cause damage to the entire community of the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Human Sciences” and ask for authorization from the FFLCH “to prepare, after the resumption of activities, a calendar to replace lessons missed due to the strike, in compliance with the academic calendar”.
Professor Michele Schultz, president of Adusp, says the circular is a retaliation that punishes students and criticizes the rectorate for not being flexible regarding the academic calendar. “Subject programs were constructed according to the official USP calendar, with the semester ending on December 22. As PRG (Dean of University Studies) and the Rectory take it for granted that it will not be necessary to replace the classes once the strike is over?” he asks.
Source: Terra
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