Dilma Signs Quota Law For University Admissions

"O Globo" reports that Dilma signed a new law that requires federal universities in Brazil to reserve 50% of admissions for graduates of the public school system.  

She vetoed only one section of the law, which dealt with the selection criteria. The original law allowed for a "performance coefficient," arrived at by averaging a student's high school grades. Instead, the criterion will be the student's score on the Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (Enem), the National High School Exam.

The law also includes a provision for distributing the openings among racial groups, to be determined by the racial make-up of each of Brazil's states.  The racial quotas will be in place for 10 years. 

In her remarks, Dilma stated that the goal of the new law is to democratize access to federal universities, while maintaining a high level of education.  

A longer analysis of the new law can be found in this article from the New York "Times."