After federal government cut, Ufam has R$ 15 million blocked and managers seek reversal in Brasília

Bruno Pacheco – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – The rector Sylvio Puga and vice-rector Therezinha Fraxe, the Federal University of Amazonas (Ufam), will be in the Ministry of Education, on Monday, 30, in Brasilia, to try to unlock R $ 15 million in the budget 2022. Last week, the federal government cut 14.5% of the funds of universities and federal institutes in the country.

As justification, the Bolsonaro government says the cut is necessary to comply with the so-called ‘spending cap’, a mechanism that links the growth of expenses to inflation. In a statement, Ufam told CENARIUM that managers are in articulation to resolve the case in the capital of the country, with the National Association of Directors of Federal Institutions of Higher Education (Andifes).

On Sunday, the vice-rector of Ufam made a publication, on social networks, showing her and the rector Sylvio Pulga on the way to Brasilia. “We are on our way to Brasilia, with our bags and hearts hailing the verb Esperançar (hope),” the vice-rector of Ufam said on Facebook.

Criticism

In all, the government has promoted a blockade that should be close to R$ 14 billion throughout the civil service. The cut of R$ 3.23 billion in Education refers to 14.5% of the discretionary budget of the MEC and related units, which totaled R$ 22.2 billion. For Andifes, the measure is “unacceptable, incompromising and unjustifiable.

“Unacceptable, incomprehensible and unjustifiable budget cut of more than R$ 1 billion that was proceeded yesterday by the government (05/27/22) in the budgets of Brazilian universities and federal institutes,” says the association in a statement.

To CENARIUM MAGAZINE, professors and rectors regretted and criticized the cuts. Through the advisory, the Federal University of Rondonia (Unir) told the report that the measure will put at risk the entire operation of Unir, in addition to the maintenance of teaching and research activities. The student assistance, fundamental for the permanence of students in situations of social vulnerability, may also be about impacts.

“Because it is mainly about funding, and considering the cuts and budget blocks already made in recent years, this new contingency puts at risk the operation of the University, and the maintenance of teaching and research activities, and especially the student assistance actions, essential for the permanence of students in situations of social vulnerability,” says the university, in a note.

Also in the statement, Unir stresses that it is essential that the blockade, and all other measures that reduce resources for education, be suspended and that the budgets of public educational and research institutions be restored. Unir reinforces that it will also be in articulation with all the federal universities to guarantee the budget recomposition.

“Unir] will continue to work together with all the Federal Universities to guarantee the budget recomposition, reaffirming the importance and the need for free education, with inclusion and respect for diversity and social protagonism,” reinforces Unir.

Dramatic cut

The dean of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Acre (Ifac), professor Rosana Cavalcante dos Santos, said that the loss of resources is dramatic and listed the impacts that must be felt. For the educator, all the institution’s services end up being harmed.

To CENARIUM, the teacher reiterated that Ifam will meet this week to understand the damage caused by the cut. “We already know that it will be traumatic the budget losses in all Ifac actions, whether in teaching, research or extension and student assistance, in the budget for investment and maintenance of the structure, security and cleaning of the institution,” continued the dean.

The rector of the Federal Institute of Amazonas (Ifam), professor Jaime Cavalcante Alves, also said that the cut in the Education budget can lead to the suspension of research and extension projects. In the state, the Ifam has 22 units, 2 thousand servers and over 26 thousand students, enrolled in courses ranging from high school to graduate.

“The institute is in full expansion, and the blocks compromise the planning of the institute that will have to make a reengineering of their spending, replan some actions and or even postpone projects until the budget situation allows the actions can be performed,” pointed out the rector, to CENARIUM.