Announcement of exchanging books for digital content had negative repercussions; students will have both options, says governor
The Governor of Sao Paulo, Tarcisio de Freitas (Republicans), said this Saturday (5.Aug.2023) that state schools in São Paulo will offer didactic material both digitally and in printed form to students. The statement comes after the negative repercussion of the announcement by the Secretary of State for Education to use its own digital material instead of books from the PNLD (National Textbook Program), offered by the Ministry of Education.
“We are going to bind this material and deliver it printed, bound. That is, if the student wants to study digitally, he will be able to, if he wants to study in the printed content, in the notebook, he will also have that option “, said the governor. The information is from G1.
The speech represents a retreat from the government. The initial proposal established that elementary school (6th to 9th grade) and high school students would have fully digital material. Now, Tarcísio said that the schools will receive resources to pay for the prints for students who prefer. The measure will be valid from 2024.
According to Renato Feder, Secretary of Education of São Paulo, this is not a digital book, but an interactive material, with games, videos, 3D images and exercises. He justified that the decision to abandon the books was due to questions regarding the quality of the works selected by the MEC, which in his assessment are shallower.
The decision provoked reactions. On the 4th (2.Aug), the São Paulo Public Prosecutor’s Office instituted an inquiry to investigate the decision of the São Paulo government to no longer adhere to the PNLD’s didactic material, arguing that the decision may imply “possible violation of the constitutional principle of democratic management of public education and the guarantee of quality standardsIt is”.
reporting of State of São Paulo reported that Feder is investigated by the Attorney General’s Office for conflict of interest. The reason would be that his company sold computers to the secretariat he heads. According to the newspaper, Feder is a partner in a offshore holder of 28.16% of the shares of the company Multilaser, which maintains contracts with the government of São Paulo.
In note (full – 30KB), Feder replied, through the Education Secretariat, that the contracts were signed in 2022, before he took over the secretariat on January 1, 2023. He said that he sent the necessary clarifications to the Public Ministry.
After the repercussions, Tarcísio defended the proposal and the secretary. He stated that the chance of a Feder replacement in the “zero” and that the secretary is “extremely prepared, studious, enthusiastic and idealistic”.
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