Iolando Lourenço
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - The bill establishing quotas favoring the admission of public school students to public universities is expected to come up soon for a vote on the Chamber floor. This is the way the Administration's leader in the Chamber, Arlindo Chinaglia (PT-SP), sees it. The bill was approved last week by the Chamber's Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ).

The text approved by the CCJ requires public institutions of higher education and secondary-level technical instruction linked to the Ministry of Education to set aside 50% of their spots for students who completed all of their high school education in public schools. Preference will be given to students who identify themselves as blacks or Indians, in shares equal to the proportions of blacks, mulattoes, and Indians in the state's population, as reported in the most recent census.

Translation: David Silberstein