Government of SP closed more than 300 classes in the 1st bimester – 05/08/2023 – Education

The management of Tarcísio Freitas (Republicans) announced that it had closed 312 elementary and high school classes in the state of São Paulo during the first two-month period of this year—from February 6 to April 28.

The action is part of the reorganization promoted by the Secretary of Education. According to the folder, a “resizing” of 0.3% of its 104 thousand classes was carried out in the first two months, following criteria established by internal resolutions.

The adjustments, says the secretary, occur in other classes of the same unit and the same shift, maintaining the students’ school routine. With the decision, the permanent staff of teachers, she says, has no loss of class.

That is, a school that had four 6th grade classes in the morning would now have three three classes in the period, in a hypothetical example.

“It is customary to dialogue with the network for the formation of classes, this happens every year”, said the folder. “If, at the end of each two-month period, the network sees an increase or decrease in school demand, the education board should reassess and proceed with the necessary adaptation according to the local reality.”

For the folder commanded by Renato Feder, it is incorrect to compare the measure with closing classrooms, as classes will not be extinguished to attend another school activity, he says.

In an interview with Sheet, Vinicius Mendonça, Executive Secretary of Education, said that the management only applied the current resolution in the state on the subject. Still according to him, the percentage of classes affected is now similar to that registered in the first two months of last year, still in the government of João Doria, then in the PSDB.

Resolution of the Department of Education establishes a limit of 30 students for classes in the early years of elementary school (1st to 5th), 35 for the final years (5th to 9th) and 40 for high school. The text does not establish a minimum number of students per class.

“We simply applied the criteria. Due to the good use of public money, we cannot have rooms that are too empty or too full”, says Mendonça.

The measure was criticized by Apeoesp (Union of Official Teaching Teachers of the State of São Paulo). The entity stated that the action may even lead to the closure of schools.

A survey carried out by the union points out that the number of classes closed is even higher, at 326. The region of Araras would be the most affected, with 36 classes closed in 18 schools. No school in São Paulo was affected by the measure.

According to the union, the exclusion of classes may result in more crowded classrooms, which would lead to an overload of work for teachers, more dispersed students and a delay in teaching.