To the Editor -From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we expected that people, especially women, caring for children, elderly, people with disabilities or other family members, would be the most impacted in academia; data proved this to be the case [1][2][3] . This issue is central to the long-standing problem of low female representation in science, since women across all employment sectors persist as the main caregivers.With attempts to return to normal lives following more than a year of remote working and home schooling in many countries, a question arises: how many institutions have implemented effective action to mitigate the pandemic's negative impacts on the academic careers of caregivers? These include reducing teaching or administrative workloads; extending deadlines for caregivers when necessary (for grants, scholarships or career advancement assessments); including specific criteria to fairly assess caregivers' productivity when compared to their peers; creating specific grants to support caregivers in their academic progress; and enforcing policies to increase diversity in academia, especially towards women of colour.Worldwide, the most common measure to offset the pandemic's negative effects on academics was the extension of deadlines, especially for career advancement and tenure track assessments (for example, stopping the tenure clock). While positive, these actions were not specifically tailored to caregivers -those who were hit the hardest. A study published before the pandemic demonstrated that the adoption of neutral tenure clock-stopping policies substantially reduced female tenure rates and substantially increased male tenure rates 4 . Hence, an in-depth assessment with a gender perspective is needed of the consequences of such policies specific to the pandemic. In the specific case of caregivers, actions taken so far are scarce.
Resumo
Apresentamos os princípios estruturantes e a matriz curricular de uma licenciatura em Ciências da Natureza implantada naO curso de graduação em Ciências da Natureza, cuja proposta aqui se apresenta, foi encerrado, por decisão unilateral da administração superior da UEPB, depois deste artigo ter sido aceito e ainda sem que a primeira turma concluísse o curso. Somente três turmas, que em breve concluirão a Licenciatura, puderam se formar com esta proposta. A decisão teria sido embasada na "escassa saída laboral" que o formando poderia chegar a ter. Os autores deste trabalho, que estiveram envolvidos no desenho e implementação da proposta, lamentam a decisão, que repete esquemas falidos para a melhoria da educação básica no Brasil.
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