The Federal Public Ministry (MPF) filed a public civil action in the Federal Court against the state of Rio de Janeiro for the immediate hiring of elementary school teachers for indigenous schools in four Guarani villages in Angra dos Reis and Paraty.
According to the MPF, teachers from the Sapukai, Itaxi, Araponga and Rio Pequeno villages had their contracts terminated at the end of the 2023 school year and have not yet been rehired.
Based on a complaint made by the State Council for Indigenous Rights, the MPF contacted the Department of Education and the State Attorney’s Office of Rio de Janeiro to prove the measures adopted to guarantee indigenous education students classes for the 2024 school year. However, there was no response.
In an inspection carried out in the four Guarani villages on April 15 and 16, it was possible to verify that there were no classes in indigenous schools due to a lack of elementary school teachers.
“The context is discouraging: schools without decent physical structure, first-class elementary school teachers not hired in the year 2024, lack of adequate training for indigenous teachers, complete absence of daycare centers, lack of pedagogical support and lack of bilingual and culturally constructed”, said attorney Fabiana Schneider, author of the action.
The MPF also requests in the action that the State present a schedule, starting immediately, for the restoration of classes damaged by the absence of teachers and be sentenced to collective moral damages, in the amount of R$ 200 thousand for each of the affected villages.
Wanted by Brazil Agency, the State Department of Education informed that it was notified and will provide clarifications to the Federal Public Ministry within the established deadline. “Seeduc is finalizing a schedule for replacing content for students in the 1st to 5th year of Elementary School,” said the note.
*Matter expanded at 4pm to include the position of the State Department of Education.
