Post by account_disabled on Mar 11, 2024 22:23:38 GMT -5
Last week, students at the Federal University of Goiás (UFG) had a good surprise: they are no longer required to pay the annual registration fee or any other academic fee. The registration fee has always been mandatory and any student who did not pay it would be denied academic registration.
However, Public Prosecutor Mariane Guimarães, from the Federal Public Ministry in Goiás, has been pleading, since 2003, for the suspension of the charge, which she understands to be irregular. Last Friday, February 22nd, the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region decided to prohibit undue charges by UFG.
Following this decision, students who have paid academic fees in Special Data the last five years will be able to request reimbursement through administrative means. If UFG refuses to refund the money, those affected may resort to legal means to recover the loss. The registration fees, which were R$93 for newcomers and R$50 for veterans, were annual and must be returned in full.
According to section IV of article 206 of the Federal Constitution, “Education will be provided based on the principle of free public education in official establishments”, that is, students are exempt from any payment in public educational institutions. Some universities charge fees based on article 207 of the CF, which states that “Universities enjoy didactic-scientific, administrative and financial and asset management autonomy, and will obey the principle of inseparability between teaching, research and extension”.
The Secretary of Higher Education at the MEC (Ministry of Education), Ronaldo Mota, states that “the principle of university autonomy, also established in the CF, does not override the guarantee of free public education”. The MEC has not yet commented on the irregularities committed by at least 11 educational institutions, according to the UOL website.
According to federal judge João Batista Moreira, the charge is unconstitutional and that “no matter how noble the purposes, there is no possibility of waiving the law’s requirement”.
In some federal universities, the charge continues and reaches R$180, as is the case at the Federal University of Itajubá (Unifei), in Minas Gerais. This fee is one of the requirements for enrollment, under penalty of losing the place won in the entrance exam for anyone who is unable to pay this amount.