The director of a school in Santa Cruz do Sul, in Rio Grande do Sul, published a video on a social network criticizing the book “O Avesso da Pele”, written by Jeferson Tenório and winner of the Jabuti Prize 2021. She claims that the work brings “vocabularies of such low level”.
In the message, she requests that the federal government remove the copies.
“It is regrettable that the federal government, through the MEC [Ministério da Educação] acquire this literary work and send it to schools with such low-level vocabularies to be worked on with high school students. I ask the Ministry of Education to collect the 200 copies sent to the school. We value the education of our students and not vulgarity.”
See the moment the director refers to the work:
The author of the book made a post on his networks about the controversy.
“A school principal made a video accusing the book of using 'bad' words and containing scenes of sexual acts. After repercussion and a motion from a councilor, the 6th CRE [Coordenadoria Regional de Educação] ordered the collection of copies from schools and libraries until the federal government responds,” he wrote.
“Distortions and fake news are strategies of an extreme right that promotes disinformation. The most curious thing is that the 'bad' words and sexual acts in the book cause more discomfort than racism, police violence and the death of black people”, says Jeferson.
In a statement, however, the Rio Grande do Sul Department of Education said that it did not advise that the book be removed from libraries in the state education network.
“The use of any PNLD book [Programa Nacional de Livros Didáticos] it must take place within a pedagogical context, under the guidance and supervision of the pedagogical team and teachers”, says the secretariat, which also points out that “the 6th Regional Education Coordination will follow the secretariat's guidance and ensure that schools in the region use appropriately literary books”.
In a note, the Ministry of Education states that the “acquisition of works takes place through a public call, in an equal and transparent manner” and that the works are evaluated by professionals registered with the bank of evaluators.
The MEC also highlights that “the approved books become part of a catalog in which schools can choose, in a democratic way, the materials that best suit their pedagogical reality, with respect for the pluralism of pedagogical concepts as a guideline”.
The folder reinforces the relevance of the National Book and Teaching Material Program (PNLD) and the adherence of more than 95% of education networks in Brazil.
Companhia das Letras, the publisher that published the book, said it repudiates any act of censorship. The company argues that, “to reach the school in question, it still had to be approved by the director herself, who signed the 'minutes of choice' document for the work and is now contesting the content of the book. This data is transparent and public.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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