Brasília, 3/2/2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Last week the government announced it was studying the possibility of "buying" places in private universities for students who were poor, handicapped or members of minority groups. The private universities would get tax exemptions for allowing such students into their classrooms.

The idea has raised concern in the public university community (in Brazil, public universities are tuition-free) because already-scarce government funding could be further reduced if some of it went to private universities. "We just want to be absolutely certain that funds which could be used to improve public universities will not go to expand private universities," declared Jose Fernandes de Lima, president of the Association of Federal Educational Institutions (Andifes), adding that his organization and others involved in public universities were calling for a statement by the minister of Education explaining the situation.

According to Maria Eunice de Andrade, a special aide at the Ministry of Education, "There will be no transfer of funds from the public to the private. On the contrary, our objective is to improve education." (AB)