A reforma do Estado e da educação no governo Fernando Henrique Cardoso: o ENEM como mecanismo de consolidação da reforma.

Abstract

The present work investigated the State and Education Reforms during the government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso (henceforth FHC) from 1995 through 2000 and the central role of the National High School Examination (henceforth ENEM) as an instrument to enter higher education. It also analyzed the relationship between the democratizing discourse associated with ENEM and the elaboration of a new social pact. The investigation took place at the State University of Campinas-UNICAMP-SP, which pioneered the use of the results of ENEM as the university entrance criterion in 2000, in two undergraduate courses (Medicine and Mathematics - nighttime). It was then central in this work to investigate whether there was an impact or not on the university entrance process with the utilization of the ENEM results in relation to the socioeconomic profile of the novice students. To achieve this, interviews with top officials of FHC government and with UNICAMP top staff members were carried out. These interviewees included: i) the Minister of Education, ii) the president of the National Institute of Educational Research- INEP; iii) one member of the National Council of Education-CNE; iv) one member of the Executive Permanent Commission for the University Entrance Examination and Educational Programs of UNICAMP (in office 1998-2002); v) the vice-dean of undergraduation of UNICAMP (in office 1998-2002); vi) the Executive Coordinator of COMVEST (in office at the beginning of 2002); and vii) the research coordinator of COMVEST (in office at the beginning of 2002). In addition to this, the analysis of the following official documents was conducted: documents dealing with the elementary and higher education systems, technical advices, decrees, resolutions, directives, pedagogical reports, magazines, informative leaflets, newspapers materials on ENEM and proceedings of meetings of the Deliberating Chamber of COMVEST. The results allowed to conclude that: a) the State Reform had as the theoretical grounding a concept of minimalist State and a management model oriented by the market logic and by the criteria of efficiency and quality in relation to services delivery; b) as for the Education Reform, education was viewed as merchandising and not as a legitimate right with its main aim being to educate the young generations based on commercial values and thus developing skills, abilities and attitudes needed for their adaptation to the existing reality; c) the pedagogy of competences is characterized as the official pedagogy of FHC government and is a central category to reform the elementary and higher education systems, by providing recommendations for high school, professional education, and the policy of teachers training; d) the creation, the central role occupied by ENEM on the university entrance policy to higher education and its mystification as a mechanism of democratization constituted a political strategy to set up a new social pact, which was necessary for establishing the reform in progress ; e) the democratizing discourse associated with ENEM does not match to reality, since the incorporation of ENEM scores as a criterion for entering UNICAMP did not change the socioeconomic profile of novice students, neither altered the list of enrolled pupils in that institution, neither corresponded to an increase of pupils from public schools.