A assistência estudantil no Campus da UFC em Russas: uma avaliação a partir das perspectivas dos estudantes atendidos

Abstract

This study deals with the evaluation of the Student Assistance Policy of the Federal University of Ceará at the Russas Campus, having as a guiding document the Decree Number 7.234/2010, which established the National Program of Student Assistance (PNAES – ProgramaNacional de Assistência Estudantil).The PNAES was regulated during a neo-developmentalist political context, which led to reforms and transformations in the national education policy; and it was legitimized by the Support Program for Restructuring and Expansion of Federal Universities (REUNI - Programa de Apoio a Planos de Reestruturação e Expansão das Universidades Federais), and by the struggles of student movements and entities representing the board of deans. With emphasis on public higher education, and focusing on socioeconomically vulnerable individuals, the program aims to enable the conditions of access and permanence necessary to the right to education. In this sense, considering the student assistance as a strategy within the educational policy to promote social inclusion, this research aims to present the conceptions of student assistance that guide the actions developed at the UFC and the Campus of Russas; verify the extent of these actions regarding the permanence and academic performance of the students assisted by the program; and investigate how student assistance is perceived by the actors involved. The methodological approach adopted is qualitative and counter-hegemonic, inspired by the perspectives of public policy evaluation by Raul Lejano (experiential method) and Lea Rodrigues (in-depth evaluation). The results pointed to contradictions in the implementation process, as well as limits to the reaching of the policy, with respect to the coverage of the services offered at the Russas Campus, and to the subjectivities present in the social and individual contexts of the assisted students. However, it was noted the importance and the need to reinforce student assistance as a social policy, since access to it enables the social inclusion and sense of belonging of students by means of education.