MEC will create protocols to combat racism in schools
The Ministry of Education (MEC) will present protocols to prevent and respond to racism in schools. Calls for proposals with the proposed measures will be published in the coming months and may be applied in all educational institutions in the country—public and private. The measure is part of the framework for the National Policy on Education for Ethnic-Racial Relations, which is expected to be announced on the 14th.
Overall, the policy has seven pillars, one of which is the assessment for monitoring implementation of Law 10,639/2003, which mandated the inclusion of Afro-Brazilian history and culture in all stages of basic education.
The announcement came amid recent cases of racism in educational institutions. One of them occurred on April 3 in Brasília, when students from Escola Franciscana Nossa Senhora de Fátima were harassed with racist slurs by students from Colégio Galois, during a futsal match in the Liga das Escolas tournament. Because of the incident, Colégio Galois—a private school in the federal capital—expelled some of the identified students involved, while others requested to leave the institution.
Another case that received widespread attention was reported by actress Samara Felippo, who filed an electronic police report after her 14-year-old daughter was the victim of racism at a high-end school in São Paulo.
According to the State Department of Public Security (SSP), in the incident report the actress stated that racist insults had been written in one of her daughter’s notebooks. The case was classified as “racial or color prejudice” and is being investigated by the 14th Police Precinct in Pinheiros, in the capital of São Paulo. The incident took place at Vera Cruz School, in the Pinheiros neighborhood, and two students involved were suspended by the school.
A survey released last year showed that 71% of municipal education departments do not have consistent actions to comply with the legislation. Another study released this year indicates that approximately 90% of preschool and early childhood education classes disregard racial issues.
To accelerate implementation of Law 10,639/2003, the MEC is expected to announce efforts to strengthen education systems through a system of collaboration and federative coordination. Financial, technical, and symbolic incentives are planned as part of the implementation of the national policy on education for ethnic-racial relations.
Source: Agência Brasil.
