The materials launched aim to help state schools with enrollment and classroom integration.
Integrating refugee and immigrant students into state schools is one of the responsibilities of the São Paulo State Department of Education. In addition to different cultures and traditions, children and teenagers from outside the country are responsible for bringing greater plurality to the education network.
Faced with this reality, the department has developed documents to guide the care of these students in schools. Launched in 2018, the materials help schools from the moment of enrollment to reception in the classroom.
According to Uiara Araújo, director of CGEB's Educational Inclusion Center (NINC) and one of the people responsible for drawing up the documents, the aim is to point out current legislation and help teachers with teaching materials on different subjects and cultures.
“The idea is for everyone to take part, to demystify and put an end to the prejudice that surrounds the culture of students from abroad. It's important to understand and learn about different customs and traditions,” says Uiara.
The documents “Guidance Document for Immigrant Students: Registration and Certificates” and “Guidance Document for Immigrant Students: Reception” are materials that respond to the demands of refugee and immigrant families who were looking for greater integration into the network. All public schools in São Paulo have already received the digital file, which is available for download (link below).
The request came up at the monthly meetings of the State Committee for Refugees, held by the State Secretariat for Justice and Defense of Citizenship in partnership with other departments. The meetings bring together representatives of the government, NGOs and refugees to evaluate what is being done and think about improvement projects.
“Whether an immigrant or a refugee, every child has the right to study in state schools. This is of fundamental importance,” explains Izilda Alves, head of the Center for Combating Trafficking in Persons and coordinator of the Committee.
In addition, this initiative also helps the São Paulo government to draw up a survey and measure in which regions of the state there is a higher concentration of students of other nationalities.
“The UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, recognizes the importance of producing these materials so that they can facilitate the entry and adaptation of refugee children and young people to the school context, since school is a fundamental space for learning and socializing for integral human development," says Maria Beatriz Nogueira, head of the São Paulo office.
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