Attack on an education innovation: A programme called the Special Tutorial Program ("Programa Especial de Treinamento" or PET in Portuguese) was established over 20 years ago, providing tutorial interaction for thousands of students at dozens of universities. However, opponents of PET have been trying to destroy it. Professor Marcos Cesar Danhoni Neves (macedane@yahoo.com) of the State University of Maringa', a leading PET advocate, has come under personal attack. Thousands of students and staff have joined protests in support of PET. For more information (in Portuguese) see http://www.pet.dfi.uem.br (click on the icon "A Resistencia - PET Reage" [The Resistance - PET Reacts]).
Update, 2005: Professor Danhoni, because of his defence of PET, received a death threat by the president of an Agency of Higher Education of the Brazilian Public Instruction Ministry. This happened during a public audience at the Brazilian Congress about important educational, science and technology programs in several Brazilian Universities. The person who threatened Professor Danhoni didn't attend the audience and said to a high member of the University of Maringá (a testimony repeated to another seven tutors and teachers during a meeting at the university) that "if I was present there I would shoot Prof. Danhoni". This phrase was repeated in another moment of the oficial talking (inside the Ministry Department) when this high university member invited the Agency member to visit the campus at Maringá: "If I visit your University I will shoot Professsor Danhoni".
Update, February 2006: "Here in our city, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil, the current mayor, Silvio Barros II, destroyed the whole electoral process for directors of municipal schools. He chose personally and arbitrarily 32 directors out of a total of 36 schools in the Municipal district. It is the heaviest intervention and attack against public schools that has occurred here. The choice criteria followed political indications of the government's allies. He disrespected the students' parents' votes. The community is angry with the non democratic behaviour of the Mayor."
Update, July 2012: "A teacher at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in Brazil and then tutor in the Tutorial Education Program (PET), Professor
Luiz Eduardo R. de Carvalho, was excluded by the Public Instruction Ministery (MEC) from his position as tutor and had his research grant terminated abruptly. He had taken critical positions in the field of education and science (the fight against GMOs and the formation of the Brazilian Society of Tutorial Education). The governmental evaluation of his work and his group of students was full of irregularities, which were exposed to the public. However, the Ministry and the rectorate of UFRJ accepted all the irregularities, constraining the Professor and all the students of his tutorial group. Professor Luiz Eduardo had no full rights of defense and was summarily excluded by the Ministery. An important Brazilian newspaper reported the crisis of democratic administration of PET and the the situation of Professor Luiz Eduardo. However, until now, the Ministry has been satisfied with the legalization of the illegality. There seems to be no chance for democracy in Brazilian education."
To know more about these troubles see the following sites:
www.jornaldaciencia.org.br/Detalhe.jsp?id=35075
www.cotidianoempauta.blogspot.com
www.angelorigon.blogspot.com
www.odiariomaringa.com.br/noticia.php?not=5626733