According to municipal management, the idea is for the organizations to function in a complementary way, maintaining public schools
In one week, São Paulo City Hall received more than 2 thousand contributions in the public consultation on agreements between municipal schools and the private sector. Opinions began to be received last Friday (16) and will be computed until next Monday (26).
The Ricardo Nunes (MDB) administration wants, in this initial stage, to contract three schools from the private sector last year. The schools are still under construction and will be installed in the neighborhoods of Campo Limpo and Santo Amaro, in the South Zone, and in Pirituba/Jaraguá, in the Northwest Zone.
The proposal foresees partnerships with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), along the lines of what is happening today at Liceu Coração de Jesus. In a statement, the municipal management makes it clear that the process is not privatization.
According to municipal management, the idea is for the organizations to function in a complementary way, keeping schools “public, part of the Municipal Network, with student enrollment through georeferencing and will follow the pedagogical, curricular, administrative and institutional guidelines of the Municipal Department of Education”.
The idea of the public consultation is to “expand dialogue with the population, education professionals, experts and other interested parties, enabling the collection of contributions, suggestions and statements about the design of the model under analysis”.
Liceu Coração de Jesus
The City of São Paulo highlights the good results of Liceu Coração de Jesus for the continuity of the project, still considered a pilot project. Ricardo Nunes management claims that Liceu students obtained results above 10 points above the average of the rest of the municipal education network in the so-called Provinha SP.
“The unit, administered in partnership with Liceu Coração de Jesus, performed better than the average of the Municipal Education Network in Provinha São Paulo in 2023 and 2024. In the 4th and 5th years of Elementary School, for example, the Liceu obtained averages of 183 and 209.9 in Portuguese and 196.8 and 193.0 in Mathematics, higher than the averages of the Municipal Network in 2023, which were 165.6 and 185.9 in Portuguese Language and 167.6 and 187.6 in Mathematics. In the following year, the same cycles increased scores, with 175.1 and 200.7 in Portuguese Language, at the same time, in Mathematics, they obtained 182 and 211.5, also above the RME average, which was 173.2 and 188.1 for Portuguese and 173.3 and 190.4 in Mathematics”.
If São Paulo City Council considers that the model with the new three schools was successful, the idea is to work on expanding the project.
MPSP opposes
Despite this, the Public Ministry of São Paulo (MPSP) has contested the measure (https://jovempan.com.br/opiniao-jovem-pan/comentaristas/beatriz-manfredini/prefeitura-de-sp-inicia-neste-mes-concessao-de-escolas-a-iniciativa-privada-promotor-do-mp-promete-barrar-ideia.html). According to a document to which the column had access, in which the MPSP filed a Public Civil Action requesting urgent protection against the Municipality of São Paulo, the Liceu Coração de Jesus and the Municipal Secretary of Education, Fernando Padula Novaes, between February 2023 and January 2025, around R$14.7 million was transferred.
In the action, the Public Ministry states that the partnership served to “save” the Liceu financially, and not to serve the public interest. Among other arguments, the MP also points out that there were already enough places for public school students in the central region, with no need for an agreement, and that public education resources can only be allocated to private schools exceptionally, when there is a lack of public places.
The document is signed by Public Prosecutor Silvio Antonio Marques who, in statements to the column, promised to block all attempts by the City of São Paulo to sign new agreements in this model.
The consultation is available on the Participe Mais platform, run by São Paulo City Hall (https://participemais.prefeitura.sp.gov.br)
