The University Council (Consu) of Unicamp, the university's highest deliberation body, approved this Tuesday (24) the call of the academic community for an extraordinary university assembly to be held on October 15th, from 12 to 14 pm, at Basic Cycle on the Campinas campus. The objective is to vote on a motion and raise awareness in society against the series of attacks suffered by universities and research institutes, characterized mainly by cuts in scholarships and threats to university autonomy.
It is the first time in its 53-year history that Unicamp has called an extraordinary university assembly. The last time the community promoted an act of this proportion was in 1981, to protest against Governor Paulo Maluf's intervention on the campus, still during the military regime. The state government's attempt to intervene in the university's administration generated a wave of protests that culminated in a large meeting at Ciclo Básico. Under pressure, the interveners ended up resigning from their positions.
“This time the idea is to show the strength and unity of the entire academic community around a common cause,” said rector Marcelo Knobel before submitting the proposal for an extraordinary university assembly to the councilors for a vote. “We need to bring together all entities representing the university to take a stand against the attacks we are suffering and call on society to defend science, education and university autonomy in the country”, he added.
Since the first semester, the main federal agencies for promoting and supporting postgraduate studies have suffered a drastic reduction in the resources allocated to financing scholarships and other research aid, essential for thousands of Brazilian students and for the sustainability of the national Science, Technology system. and Innovation. The National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) this year recorded a deficit of R$ 330 million, the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes), of R$ 800 million, and the Innovation and Research Financing Agency (Finep ) is paralyzed by the lack of resources necessary to honor commitments made.
Currently, CNPq and Capes contribute around R$12 million per month to finance scholarships for 5 postgraduate students at Unicamp. “In the short term, the eventual cut of these resources will bring incalculable losses to students and, in the medium term, to the country as a whole”, ponders the dean. “No country in a financial crisis cuts resources in education and science, on the contrary, these are the areas that allow for economic recovery and development.”
The proposal to promote an extraordinary university assembly began to take shape in the rectory following an initiative by undergraduate and postgraduate students, through various academic centers, the Central Student Directory (DCE) and the Postgraduate Association ( APG), who last month filed a document calling for an extraordinary assembly to discuss the attacks suffered by universities.
“In this context of attacks on public universities, it is important to bring together the academic community for a joint response to this situation,” said Lucas Marques, from DCE-Unicamp. “It will be a unique opportunity for us to debate alternatives and reaffirm university autonomy”, said Leandro Camargo de Oliveira, one of the student representatives at Consu.
For João Raimundo Mendonça de Souza, known as Kiko, director of the Unicamp Workers' Union (STU), the act will be an important milestone in the current political context. “In addition to highlighting our fighting spirit, the assembly will be covered with strong symbolism, in the sense of reaffirming a common agenda in defense of the university and against the cuts,” he stated.
The proposal also received support from the president of the Unicamp Teachers' Association (Adunicamp), Wagner Romão. “In addition to the great symbolism, the assembly will be a crucial moment for us to defend the role of the university in society,” he stated.
According to the rector, a working group will be formed with representatives of the university community to organize the event. The text of the motion to be presented during the assembly will also be prepared with the collaboration of the GT participants. The call for an extraordinary university assembly is provided for in article 163 of the Unicamp statute.
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