Students at the Polytechnic School approve the end of the strike at the unit

The Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (USP), responsible for training engineers, approved this Friday (6) the end of the strike at the unit. In a plebiscite, of the almost 5,000 students enrolled, 1,214 spoke out against maintaining the strike, 1,129 said they were in favor of continuing it and 71 abstentions were recorded.

With this, the Polytechnic School becomes the first to break the strike at the institution, reported the Folha de S. Paulo. The movement began on September 21st, motivated by the lack of teachers. Students from all USP units in the state capital joined the strike. The other areas of the university will hold an assembly on Monday (9) to define the future of the strike.

USP committed to hiring 148 temporary teachers within 45 days to try to contain the movement. The polytechnics accepted the proposal from the university management. Members of the University of São Paulo Teachers’ Association (Adusp) will await the decision of the students’ assembly and will remain on standby at least until next Tuesday (10).

According to Adusp, the teaching staff at the university has reduced by approximately 18%, around a thousand teachers, since 2014. In some units, the lack of teachers would have reached the level of 30%. Students also ask for the implementation of quotas in teacher competitions, equal offering of optional classes between shifts, improvements in student spaces and also in the conditions for exchanges and the internship ombudsman.