Brasilia: When students at Ceilandia state school No. 7 in Brazil's capital came back from their break in February, they were met by two dozen uniformed police officers in a place they barely recognized anymore. Guns in their holsters, the officers ordered students to form rows in the schoolyard. The students were given white T-shirts pending the arrival of their new uniforms. From now on, hair would have to be kept short for boys and tied at the back for girls. No more shorts, caps, brightly colored nail varnish, earrings or any distinctive pieces of clothing. Students arriving late wouldn't be let in. "Sometimes we feel intimidated," said Michael Pereira da Silva, 17, who was against the decision to hire police to instill military-like discipline in the school.

"Just going out into the hall, we are obligated to bow our heads or say hello to police officers." Although experiments began in previous years, the quasi-military approach is one of the most visible educational efforts being championed under new President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain who campaigned on promises to improve Brazilian schools, which are widely recognized as a problem. A 2015 study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranked educational performance in Brazil as 63rd out of 72 countries and regions. Schools now being co-run by police are modelled on Brazil's exclusive military colleges, which tend to perform better than most public schools - a fact that makes many parents eager to see similarly rigid discipline.