As ações de assistência estudantil para estudantes de pós-graduação da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

Abstract

The new production needs arising from the metamorphosis of the capitalist system and the phenomenon of globalization has led to changes in education systems, especially in higher education. Knowledge became overvalued, as the new configuration of work processes and procedures required new scientific tools and a workforce better suited to the demands. Brazilian postgraduate education became the target of expansion policies by Brazilian governments, especially from the 1960s onwards, with the aim of training a more prepared and qualified workforce to meet the parameters of the global labor market, thus contributing to the country's economic development. With the expansion of postgraduate studies and the creation of various policies for access to this stage of education, different student profiles began to make up higher education institutions, requiring actions to ensure that they remained in and completed their courses. Based on historical-dialectical materialism perspective, this paper aims to analyze the actions of student assistance for postgraduate students, using the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) as an example. The theoretical and methodological procedures selected for the study are part of a qualitative approach. The Statistical data are the empirical basis of the study. Bibliographical research was used to review literature in the public domain and documentary research was used to survey and analyze legal documents that were important in the discussions held throughout the study. A semi-structured interview and questionnaire were used to gain a better understanding of the object of study at the institution in question. The research showed that postgraduate students need student assistance, since they have various demands that are not met by scholarships alone. At UFRN, there is still no student assistance policy that covers the postgraduate teaching stage. Assistance actions aimed at the institution's postgraduate students are limited and receive little attention. Student aid is insufficient and the selection processes end up being exclusionary because, due to a lack of resources, they have to select the neediest among the needy students.