Unicamp reached the historic mark of 52% of students from public schools approved in the first call of the 2017 Entrance Exam. Of the total approved in the first call, 1.720 completed high school in public schools. In 2016, the index was 51,9%. With this, Unicamp exceeded Consu's target for the institution to reach 50% of students from public schools in 2017. “The results show that the inclusion methodology adopted by the Affirmative Action Program for Social Inclusion (Paais) is consolidated” , celebrated José Tadeu Jorge, rector of Unicamp, during a press conference this Monday morning (13), in the University Council (Consu) room of the University. The board of directors, in addition to the rector of Unicamp, included the executive coordinator of the Permanent Commission for Unicamp Entrance Exams (Comvest) Edmundo Capelas de Oliveira, the executive coordinator of Comvest Fosca Pedini Pereira Leite and the organization's research coordinator Jayme Vaz Júnior.
According to Tadeu Jorge, the increase represents the University's desire to promote inclusion, expressed through Consu's decisions, which enhanced Paais as a mechanism to be used in the entrance exam. And the Paais score and bonuses meant that the results were established at this level of the targets approved by the Consu: 52% public schools and 22,7% black, brown or indigenous (PPIs). Furthermore, another index was that of self-declared black, brown or indigenous students.
Of the 52% of those approved in the public school system, 32,9% (571 students) declared themselves black, mixed race or indigenous. The target approved by Consu was 35%. Among all those approved, the percentage of PPIs was 22,7% (751 students) against 22,4% in the previous year. Comvest has just released the list of approved candidates in the first call this Monday (13/2), for non-face-to-face registration between February 14th and 15th. This year, Comvest registered 73.489 registrants.
The numbers released are the result of changes promoted in Paais and which were applied for the first time in last year's Entrance Exam. The program points for public school students who take the entrance exam have doubled and are also valid in the first phase. Until the 2015 Unicamp Entrance Exam, the score was only applied after the second phase. Thus, all candidates who completed high school entirely in public schools received 60 points in the first phase and another 90 points in the second phase, reported Edmundo Capelas. Public school candidates who declared themselves black, mixed race or indigenous received, in addition to these, another 20 and 30 points, respectively in the first and second phases.
Data from previous years are available on the website of Comvest. Complete information per course will be released at the end of all entrance exam calls. Up to ten lists of candidates for enrollment are planned.
Paais is the first affirmative action program without quotas implemented at a Brazilian university. Established in 2004, after approval by Consu, Paais aims to encourage the entry of students from the public network at Unicamp while at the same time encouraging ethnic and cultural diversity. The most important aspect of Paais is the addition of points to candidates' entrance exam scores.
The program was an action by the University towards inclusion and, when it was discussed, the University also debated the quota system, opting for Paais, understanding that it was at that time the most important action that the University should take. The results show that the program is flexible enough, so much so that it was sometimes adapted to produce the inclusion effect that the University desires, commented the rector. Paais, he highlighted, impacts mainly on the first five courses with the greatest demand in the candidate-vacancy relationship, including medicine, architecture, social communication, biological sciences and civil engineering.
The University's action since the creation of Paais in 2005, in the first entrance exam, has always been a concern, both in terms of increasing inclusion and stabilizing the methodology that causes this inclusion. The latest changes benefiting the first and second phases are practically consolidated with this year's result, which is slightly higher than last year, unlike previous editions, when the changes made were accommodated. "Now, from 2016 to 2017 we have consolidated this amount of inclusion, which can lead us to greater inclusion in the number of students, both from public schools and PPI at the University", stated Tadeu.
Since last year, the results have consolidated the changes made in 2015 in Paais. Since then, public school students have received bonuses in their grades in both phases of the entrance exam, and not just in the first, as used to happen, explained Edmundo Capelas. "Entrance candidates receive 60 points in the first phase and 90 points in the second phase. The bonuses were only in the initial phase."
