Unicamp innovates
Project developed by the university aims to improve the quality of training for public high school students, preparing them to pursue higher education
The State of São Paulo
03 July 2018 | 03:00
Among the initiatives taken by university institutions to try to reverse the tragic situation in which the country's educational system finds itself, the experience that has been developed by the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) with the aim of improving the quality of student training deserves to be highlighted. of the public secondary education network, preparing them to pursue higher education.
The project is similar to that adopted by higher education institutions in the United States, such as the University of California, Berkeley. Called the Higher Interdisciplinary Training Program (ProFIS), it selects, based on Enem scores, up to two 3rd year high school students from each of 95 public schools in Campinas, offering them a general training course , under the guidance of a teacher or researcher, and providing them with knowledge of scientific experiments. Each student receives a monthly scholarship of R$400.
“These students can come into contact with basic knowledge of the natural, social and artistic world, from disciplines aimed at developing skills, logical reasoning and ethical, social and environmental responsibility, and their relationships with the job market. Through scientific initiation, which is mandatory, they learn to reflect on real problems, using concepts, techniques and scientific methods”, stated physicist Marcelo Knobel, rector of Unicamp, in an interview with the magazine of the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Fapesp), which publicizes the academic and scientific projects financed by it.
ProFIS students spend two years at Unicamp and have to work hard in the first semester, when subjects are offered that are not always well taught in the public elementary school system, such as Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. In total, they must take 28 mandatory subjects and two electives, in any of the institution's 61 undergraduate courses. With this, they are able to better define the professional career they desire, being able to move around all the faculties and units of the institution, with free access to teachers and directors. At the end of the experience, successful students do not need to take the entrance exam. “These students begin their degree more mature than their colleagues who enter through the entrance exam, standing out for their critical stance. Many make a point of participating in University Council discussions, in addition to working on projects of social relevance”, says biologist Mariana Nery, coordinator of ProFIS.
Since its implementation, ProFIS has increased the participation of students from the public network at Unicamp by 3%. According to a survey by the institution's Public Policy Studies Center (Nepp), ProFIS students come from low-income families. In relation to their parents' education, 77% are the first generation in their families to enter university. And, in the program's first class, 40% of ProFIS students were brown or black - a percentage 2,7 times higher than that of enrollees selected through the traditional entrance exam. Although Unicamp continues to maintain affirmative action policies, granting bonuses on the score in the second phase of the entrance exam to candidates from public schools, ProFIS presents better results in terms of social inclusion and cultural and professional emancipation for low-income students. The success of ProFIS also had another positive social effect, as its fellows began to publicize the program in the neighborhoods where they live and in the public schools where they studied, which encouraged them to develop pedagogical projects with an eye on a possible place in the program for their students. .
Instead of raising flags that are more showy than effective, marked by ideological bias, as many public universities do, Unicamp, with the experience of ProFIS, is taking the opposite path, democratizing access to its undergraduate courses, without compromising the principle of merit.
