This Thursday (22nd) the University of Brasília (Unb) held a ceremony to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the racial quota policy at the institution, completed on the last 6th of this month. The university was the first federal institution of higher education in the country to adopt the initiative. Since 2004, the first year of implementation of the policy, 38,042 students entered the university through the system. At the beginning, the policy provided that 20% of undergraduate vacancies would be allocated to black candidates. After the 2012 Quota Law, the institution allocates 50% to public school students, based on income and race criteria, and maintains 5% of places exclusively for blacks. At the extraordinary meeting of the Teaching, Research and Extension Council (Cepe), the body that approved and structured the policy at UnB, the pedagogue and representative of university quota holders, Jonhatan Gonçalves, reported how the quota policy allowed him to access education. “My family didn’t even have the physical, psychological, emotional and cultural conditions for such support, support or investment in my education”. Advances The vice-rector of UnB, Henrique Huelva, points out that the adoption of quotas was the first step towards settling the country’s debt to the black population, victims of a process of slavery, one of the greatest atrocities committed by humanity. According to him, the road is still long. According to internal university surveys, almost 12% of students declare themselves black and 34% brown. Among professors, the percentage of those who declare themselves black drops to 4%, and 20% are brown. “This shows the need for quotas, affirmative actions in masters and doctorates, the next two steps, to allow the entry of new professors and researchers and to have a slightly more satisfactory approximation between the ethnic-racial composition of Brazilian society and internal composition of the university” In 2020, the university extended the policy of quotas for graduate studies, allocating 20% of the vacancies in each notice to black candidates and at least one additional vacancy in all stricto sensu selections for indigenous people and quilombolas, The rules came into force in the first half of 2021. Cepe is discussing the reservation of vacancies for teachers. The dean of UnB, Márcia Abrahão, spoke about the pressures and challenges faced by UnB, as it was a pioneer in the implementation of racial quotas for admission to undergraduate courses. One of the most notable episodes was the contestation of the initiative in the Federal Supreme Court (STF). UNB Rector, Márcia Abrahão, talks about the pressures and challenges faced by UnB, as it pioneered the implementation of racial quotas – Valter Campanato/Agência Brasil At the time, the university had to conduct a study on the level of knowledge of quota students to challenge a lawsuit. In April 2012, the Supreme Court recognized that the policy was constitutional. In the same year, the federal government instituted the Quota Law. At another time, the university had to deal with the numerous frauds resulting from the self-declaration of candidates. “The university was bold and is experimenting. It was a moment when the university trusted that self-declaration, in accordance with the law [de Cotas], would be enough for people to understand that it is a specific policy. Unfortunately, we had many cases of fraud, we established investigation commissions. We returned with the hetero-identification commissions, ”he said. UnB recreated the hetero-identification commission in 2022, when a panel evaluates the self-declaration of black, indigenous and quilombola candidates for admission to undergraduate courses. Two years earlier, in an unprecedented decision, the institution expelled 15 students after an intense investigation proved fraud in the self-declaration. Permanence at university For the Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, quotas must be supported by policies that encourage quota holders to remain at university. “Anyone who is a student knows how much money for meals, snacks and photocopies is essential for us to stay and live while studying, without having to drop out of school and look for other means of survival. It is a fundamental aid for quilombola students, indigenous people in a situation of socio-economic vulnerability”. Anielle Franco participates in an event to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the UNB quota system – Valter Campanato/Agência Brasil In February, the federal government announced a readjustment of the Permanência Scholarship, with percentages from 55% to 75%, which had not occurred since 2013. Currently, values range from R$ 400 to R$ 900.
Agência Brasil
Folha Nobre - Desde 2013 - ©