The number of professors at São Paulo state universities has shrunk by 10.9% over the last four years, a period marked by a deep economic crisis.
In a critical financial situation, Unesp (Paulista State University) is the most affected institution, with a 20% loss in its teaching staff, which decreased from 3,826 in 2015 to 3,051 today.
At USP, the loss was 7%, and at Unicamp (State University of Campinas), 5.1%.
The reduction is due to the lack of replacement of professionals who retire or request dismissal. As the number of students has not decreased, to make subjects available, USP and Unesp have hired temporary teachers. Their salary starts at R$ 927.33 per month for 12 hours per week.
According to a survey by the USP Faculty Association on payroll, there are 23 teachers in this condition at the university. USP has 231 temporary or about 4% of teachers.
At Unesp, according to Vice-President Sérgio Nobre, the university has between 350 and 400 temporary teachers (from 11% to 13% of the total).
At Unicamp, temporary hiring only happens in emergency cases, says the rector, Marcelo Knobel.
The lack of teachers has hampered teaching, research, and extension activities in universities in São Paulo, students, and teachers report.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon