President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva held a review meeting with managers of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of São Paulo (IFSP) and ministers on Friday (23) at the institute’s campus in the capital of São Paulo. The topic under discussion was the federal government’s investments in the institution. 
According to the Planalto Palace, R$141.2 million is being invested in infrastructure improvements to existing units, such as the construction of new student restaurants, libraries, classrooms and laboratories. In total, there are 38 projects.
There are also plans to open 12 new IFSP campuses in the state of São Paulo by 2026, with an investment of R$300 million. The new units will be in the cities of Carapicuíba, Cotia, Diadema, Franco da Rocha, Mauá, Osasco, Ribeirão Preto, Santos, São Paulo, in the neighborhoods of Cidade Tiradentes and Jardim Ângela, and in São Vicente and Sumaré.
“It is estimated that the new units will generate 16.8 thousand vacancies, mostly in technical courses integrated with high school. Each new unit will have the capacity to serve 1,400 students. Of the 12 new campuses, two of them will be [Cidade Tiradentes e Ribeirão Preto] have already been donated for construction. The remaining spaces are in the negotiation process,” the government said in a statement.
In addition to President Lula and IFSP managers, the meeting was attended by the Vice President of the Republic, Geraldo Alckmin; the Minister of Education, Camilo Santana; the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad; and the Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Farming, Paulo Teixeira. The meeting participants left the venue without speaking to the press.
IFSP currently has 41 campuses and offers 903 courses including professional qualification, technical courses, undergraduate and postgraduate courses. In total, it has 77,558 students.
