New well to resolve water shortages at Unesp in Jaboticabal, SP, is expected to take four months; classes will be remote

What the college has already tried The campus network was connected to the Jaboticabal public network, but the volume proved to be insufficient given the unit's demand, also because the Autonomous Water and Sewage Service (SAAE) needs to guarantee the city's supply, according to management. The use of water trucks was evaluated and considered unfeasible due to the volume required and the logistics involved. Finally, two wells that were used exclusively for research activities were connected to the main network — they are the ones that currently provide around 30% of the required volume. "Within the scope of the Unit, the reasonably available technical alternatives for reestablishing the water capacity of the existing well have been exhausted", says the document. According to the management, without adequate volume it is not possible to maintain the hygiene of the sanitary facilities, guarantee the production of approximately 850 daily meals in the university restaurant or ensure the supply of drinking water. READ MORE Lack of water leaves more than 2,500 students without face-to-face classes at Unesp in Jaboticabal, SP Campus is also a farm The Teaching, Research and Extension Farm (FEPE), linked to FCAV, occupies 816.3 hectares, according to institutional information from the unit. The area includes 230 hectares of annual crops, 112 of pastures, 103.3 of field experiments, 38 of fruit trees and 37 of forestry. The campus maintains facilities where production animals are raised, such as cattle, pigs, goats, sheep and aquatic species, according to the college's institutional description, and houses the "Governador Laudo Natel" Veterinary Hospital. According to Unesp, the animals are receiving the necessary volume of water and it is no longer necessary to use water trucks, because the demand has been equalized. The squad was not changed and the hospital continues to operate. "The interruption of academic activities did not constitute, therefore, an ordinary administrative choice, but a direct consequence of the material impossibility of the Unit functioning under adequate conditions", says the text. FCAV campus at Unesp in Jaboticabal (SP) Disclosure/Unesp What the students say Among the students, the concern is with the calendar and the expenses that continue to run even without classes. A student on the Biological Sciences course, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the postponement was communicated by email on Friday (7), three days before the scheduled start date of classes. She lives in another city and leaves her car in the bus station parking lot to take the bus to campus, an expense that continues to be paid even with classes suspended. "We have to pay for this parking no matter if we have holidays, if there is a problem with the well. We have to pay to not lose the space, and it's R$200 that makes the difference," he said. The student also cited the effect of a possible reorganization of the calendar on those who depend on transportation offered by the city halls of neighboring cities. "There are people from Sertãozinho, Barrinha, Matão, who go with their city hall bus, but which only runs during the school period. If we need to have classes later, in December, in January, these people may not be able to go to classes because they won't have the means of transport," he said. The university informed that the calendar will be reorganized to avoid losses to students, without detailing how. In addition to the financial impacts and concerns about the calendar, students also fear losses to their academic training. Another student, who also preferred not to be identified, highlighted the possibility of losing practical and extracurricular activities during the period of suspension. "I think one of the main concerns is that students don't miss out on this practical and extracurricular experience at university so much, because we know that training doesn't just happen inside the classroom. "We at Unesp have practical classes, field activities, research projects, academic weeks, academic trips, which are also part of our training." reestablish supply. The suspension is valid from August 10th to 16th and affects FCAV, postgraduate programs and the Agricultural Technical College "José Bonifácio".