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The Minister of Education, Milton Ribeiro, said tonight that the return to face-to-face classes in public and private universities should occur on March 1 of next year. The statement came during an interview with CNN Brazil.
“We are targeting March 1, which we believe is a balanced and good date to give universities time to make some adjustments, including pedagogical and elective,” said Ribeiro, who later reinforced the announcement in a Twitter post.
At the beginning of December, the MEC (Ministry of Education) issued an ordinance that determined the return to face-to-face classes in universities as of January 4, 2021. The MEC defined that, to resume face-to-face activities, schools must adopt a “biosecurity protocol”, defined in MEC Ordinance No. 572, of July 1, 2020, against the spread of the new coronavirus.
The ordinance was harshly criticized by federal universities, student movements, teachers’ unions and other entities linked to education. During the meeting this Friday (4), Ribeiro accepted the suggestions and observations of the leaders and promised, “as soon as possible”, to comment again on the matter.
After pressure, the Minister of Education met last Friday (4) with entities representing higher education institutions to discuss the matter. The meeting took place by videoconference.
“We do not want a refund at all costs, but we always remember that Brazil is among the last countries to resume face-to-face classes in the world. We have to consider this. There is no more condition to extend the return of classes indefinitely.” face to face, ”explained Milton Ribeiro.
Since March, when the pandemic began, face-to-face classes from basic to higher education have been suspended, forcing institutions to adopt virtual education.
