The Tarcisio de Freitas (Republican) government’s proposal to divide São Paulo state schools for more than 1,200 students is likely to lead to a series of conflicts between the management of the units that will coexist in the same building, according to education experts interviewed for the report.
As it turns out Boundthe state Department of Education, led by Renato Vedder, is preparing to reorganize schools under the pretext of simplifying the management of the units. The idea is that the schools will be divided into two parts, each of which will offer one stage of teaching and will have its own management team.
Desegregated schools will operate in the same building, but in different shifts. The division must be completed before the beginning of the 2026 academic year.
“The government says it will simplify school management, by artificially creating two schools coexisting in the same building. In practice, this measure should increase the complexity of management, as two different teams will decide on the use of spaces, inputs and the work of teachers,” says Salomao Ximenes, a professor at the University of the South Pacific’s Faculty of Education.
It is estimated that there may be conflicts between the two departments, for example, when deciding whether to renovate the building or purchase materials for the school. He also wonders whether students will be able to do activities outside of working hours at their stage.
“Zoning creates a series of problems for daily school life. This proposal ignores the relationship students and teachers have with the school district.”
When asked, the Secretariat says it still does not have answers on how decisions will be divided between the two management teams. It was also not known whether students would be able to go to school after school.
Experts stress that the idea of reorganizing the São Paulo State network, which is the largest in the country and includes more than 3 million students, is not new. In 1995, the Mario Covas administration also implemented a reform to separate schools according to teaching phases, under the same argument of improving pedagogical management and thus the quality of teaching.
Two decades later, in 2015, then-Governor Geraldo Alckmin also proposed dividing schools so that they serve only one level of education. However, the proposal calls for the closure of more than 90 schools and the cancellation of teaching courses in another 754 units, affecting more than 300,000 students.
Without discussion or consultation with school communities, the project faced strong backlash from students who occupied dozens of units to protest the closure.
“The government is sticking to the same premise as 30 years ago, that changes in aspects of school management are the decisive factor in improving educational outcomes,” says João Victor Oliveira, a researcher at Repu (the network of public schools and universities). “Once again, the government is failing to take into account other important factors for teaching, such as school infrastructure and teachers’ working conditions.”
When asked, the ministry also did not say whether it plans to renovate or enhance investments in the buildings that will house the divided schools.
School principals said Bound who were notified of the project only last week and were informed that they should formalize their membership by last Wednesday (12). They complain that there is little time given to analyze the proposal and consult with teachers, students and families.
Tarcisio’s administration said it might extend that deadline, but did not provide a new date.
The government defended the proposal, saying that “desegregation” and the resulting reduction in school sizes were consistent with academic literature. Schools with a larger number of students, number of shifts and teaching phases are more complex in educational management.
“The main objective of the classification is to increase the proximity and communication between the management team and educational coordinators with the group of teachers,” said a document submitted to school principals.
The document also notes that by reducing the size of schools, it will be possible for management teams to “improve the ability to identify learning gaps and create recovery strategies.”
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