Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) wants Ministry of Education (MEC) to intervene in Gama Filho and UniverCidade universities.

Flávia Villela
Reporter from Agência Brasil

Rio de Janeiro - The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) in Rio de Janeiro announced today (16) that it may file a lawsuit requesting the intervention of the Ministry of Education (MEC) in Gama Filho University and UniverCidade, both disaccredited by the MEC last Monday (16). The Public Prosecutor of the Education, Minorities and Citizenship Office, Maria Cristina Manella Cordeiro, informed that the Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio will decide before the start of the school year how it will act in the defense of the students and employees of these institutions. The prosecutor met this afternoon (16) with state deputy Robson Leite (PT-RJ), federal deputy Jorge Bittar (PT-RJ) and representatives of the students who are requesting the intervention.

"Now we will analyze the request and the next step will be to examine the history of this issue, analyze the documents, and determine if the disqualification was done in accordance with existing rules, if it was legitimate, or if there was another less impactful solution that could have been taken," the prosecutor stated.

Maria Cristina also said that in addition to the possibility of a public civil action, there is also the possibility of a conversation with the Ministry of Education to develop a Conduct Adjustment Agreement (TAC), and that the assisted transfer proposed by the ministry should actually take place with full oversight from the Public Prosecutor's Office.

Dozens of students and staff from the disaccredited universities gathered at the entrance of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, on Avenida Nilo Peçanha, where the meeting took place. With a sound truck and signs, they occupied part of the street chanting slogans, demanding intervention from the Ministry of Education and the federalization of the two universities. The president of the Central Student Directory (DCE) of UniverCidade, Patrícia Portugal, participated in the meeting and celebrated the fact that the students had the opportunity to present their demands and positions to the ministry for the first time, which previously only had the Ministry of Education's version.

"We now hope that the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office will make a favorable decision, because assisted transfer is detrimental to the entire academic community, it does not include professors and staff, it does not guarantee that tuition fees will remain the same, and we know that we will have to repeat semesters, delaying the completion of the course," said Patrícia.

Taiane Lannes, director of the State Union of Students (UEE), who also participated in the meeting, said that there are cases in which the transfer is illegal, such as those of graduates who cannot receive a diploma from an institution they did not attend.

"We presented data demonstrating that assisted transfer will not solve the problem. There are incompatibilities in curricula, a lack of vacancies in other universities, and several specific cases," he said. "We are not giving up on intervention. We also have examples of universities that have gone through similar problems and underwent intervention, and we believe that this is the solution."

Last Monday, Robson Leite and congresswoman Jandirah Fegali (PCdoB-RJ) met with the chief prosecutor of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Rio de Janeiro, Guilherme Guedes, and formally submitted a request for the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office to ask the courts to intervene in the Ministry of Education. According to Robson Leite, the process of assisted transfer of more than 10 students from the Ministry of Education to other educational institutions does not guarantee the fundamental rights of students and staff.

"There is no guarantee that there will be vacancies for all students, graduation for those who are already finishing their courses, or employment for the teachers and professionals who are there," said the deputy, recalling that the intervention presupposes the removal of the Galileo Educational Group, which controls the universities that have lost their accreditation. If the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office files a lawsuit requesting intervention and an audit, it will be up to the courts to judge the case and appoint the intervenor, should the decision be favorable to the action.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Education ruled out federalizing the two universities, emphasizing that it is not possible to hire the 1.600 professors and administrative staff without a public competitive examination.

In the criminal sphere, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) filed two lawsuits against the Galileo Educational Group last November. According to the MPF's press office, one of the lawsuits was based on a complaint from the Rio de Janeiro Doctors' Union requesting an investigation into the possible commission of a crime by the group for failing to comply with labor obligations and not transferring social security contributions in relation to the institution's medical professors. The MPF then requested the initiation of a police investigation by the Federal Police to investigate the possible commission of the crimes of evasion of social security contributions and frustration of rights guaranteed by labor law.

The other action originated from the report of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry of the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj), which investigated allegations related to private universities, involving fraudulent management, misappropriation of public funds, crimes against the tax system, money laundering, among other irregularities. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office requested that the Federal Police open an investigation to investigate the crimes of federal interest pointed out in the report.

Last Tuesday (14), the president of Grupo Galileo, Alex Porto, declared in a press conference that he will try to reverse the disaccreditation determined by the MEC.