USP Spends More with Clerks Than with Professors

09/22/2014 - 10h15

Data obtained by Folha show that 62% of USP's expenses last year were used to pay clerks. The remaining 38%were spent with professors.

The proportion is different from that of 2009, when the payment of clerks represented 55% of the institution's expenses and professors' salaries, 45%.

In that period, USP hired more employees than professors: 2,400 new clerks and 396 professors.

In addition to that, the clerks' new career plan made their income increase up to 75% between the end of 2009 and 2013. Professors' payments also increased, but not as much - 43%. Inflation measured by the INPC in the period was 27%.

More employees and their higher salaries caused great impact. Their wages made USP's expenses with salary payment rise 5% above the amount it receives from the government.

Including other expenses - such as facility upkeep, construction and employees' meal vouchers - this year USP is likely to spend 35% more than the total it receives from the government - the funds are mostly from the ICMS (Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services).

USP has recently included a bonus for all employees every time it rises on university rankings.

In 2013, all clerks received a US$ 902 (R$ 2,000) bonus - in spite of USP's fall in the Times Higher Education, the main international university ranking.

PROPORTION

The 5-1 student-employee ratio at USP is similar to that of institutions such as PUC-Chile, the best Latin American university, according to the QS university ranking. PUC-Chile has a 4.7-1 ratio.

There are 14.7 students for each USP professor and 17.2 students per professor at PUC-Chile.

"USP has services, museums, a hospital. This kind of institution tends to have many employees," says Elizabeth Balbachevsky, a specialist in public policies for education at USP.

However, funds are spent differently at PUC-Chile. There, 68% of expenses are used to pay professors' salaries and 32% for employees.

PUC-Chile spends 46% of its budget on professors' and employees' salaries. Specialists say that USP's resignation plan can help the institution breathe again.

As from January, USP wants to fire employees who have worked there for more than 20 years, at ages between 55 and 67. It offers an advance of one salary per year worked up to US$ 180,596 (R$ 400,000).

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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