The University Council (Consu) approved, this Tuesday (1), Unicamp's adherence to the so-called Provão Paulista — a new modality of access to public universities in the state of São Paulo that benefits students from the state's public education network. In total, the new system should open around 13 thousand places in higher education courses at Unicamp, USP (University of São Paulo) and Unesp (Universidade Estadual Paulista), in addition to the Virtual University of the State of São Paulo (Univesp) and the Faculties of Technology (Fatecs) at the Paula Souza Center.
Of the total 20% of vacancies offered by Unicamp through affirmative actions, 10% will be for the Enem modality and 10% for Provão Paulista.
The new model will follow the model of the entrance exam, with in-person administration of the tests, which will be prepared by Vunesp. The tests will be administered at each school, on a single date. All high school students in the state network, including Etecs (State Technical Schools), will be able to participate. Vacancies will open at universities in 2024.
For entry in 2025, access to places at universities will be obtained based on the grade accumulated by students in the 2023 and 2024 editions, and must cover the final two years of high school. For entry from 2026 onwards, the results of the tests administered throughout the three years of secondary education will be considered.
The partnership between the three universities and the São Paulo State Department of Education, which created Provão Paulista, also provides for aid to be paid by the state body for students in situations of socioeconomic vulnerability.
According to the secretariat, this would be a way to mitigate the risks of dropping out or dropping out during the university course. The state program should also include offering scholarships to students in their final year of undergraduate courses at state universities in São Paulo to complete internships at schools in the state education network.
The dean of undergraduate studies at Unicamp, professor Ivan Toro, sees a series of advantages in the new model. "We will have control of the test, as it will be carried out with the participation of São Paulo universities. This is good, because it increases proximity to other universities and guarantees the quality of the test", he stated.
"In addition, our dialogue with the state's secondary education will be increased. We will better understand what students are learning; we will check what we need to improve in our degrees and, in the medium and long term, we will be able to improve our degree, since, In theory, we will be able to receive students with a better teaching base", he added.
New model
The coordinator of the Unicamp Entrance Exam Committee (Comvest), professor José Alves, said that the new model adapts to the selection process. "There is no point in taking an idealized test, with a real non-existent candidate. I can only take the test with a real existing candidate, with the educational conditions they have experienced in recent years, including the impacts of the pandemic", said the professor.
The coordinator guaranteed that the new access door will not reduce the affirmative policies already being developed at the University. "Affirmative actions remain the same, because we are only changing the percentage from 20% of Enem — to 10% Enem and 10% Provão —, of which half are for black and brown people. We are in the same spirit", he assured.
According to Alves, 85% of those enrolled in secondary education are in public schools and, therefore, this is another action by Universities to remain closer to this public.
The dean of Unicamp, professor Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles, recalled that the student base that will be affected by the measure will increase significantly and, as a result, he assesses that the quality of public education may improve. "Around 20 thousand of those enrolled in our entrance exams are from Enem. With the test, the number of students in public schools rises to 320 thousand in high school and more or less 40 thousand in technical schools. The base will increase a lot", he argued. .
Watch the regular Consu session, which took place in the morning: