Klaus Hart Brasilientexte

The 2010 Synthesis of Social Indicators was published on September 17 2010 by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). The IBGE is an organ of the federal government. However it is not at the service of the opposition nor of the detractors of the Lula government. Fortunately it is serious and impartial. The data concerning education in Brazil is horrifying.
 
In 2009 14.8% of young people between 15 and 17 were not attending school. 32.8% of those between 18 and 24 dropped out before finishing high school. (Increasing the amount of non-qualified labour and of candidates for the narcotics trade…)Compared to the other Mercosul (Southern common market) countries, the Brazilian high school drop out index was 10%. In Argentina it was 7%, in Uruguay 6.8%, in Chile 2.9%, in Paraguay 2.3% and in Venezuela 1%.http://www.hart-brasilientexte.de/2010/10/29/tim-wegenast-universitat-konstanz-manie-der-grose-analyse-uber-brasiliens-politischen-moment/Why do our young people drop out of school? The main factors are lack of funds to pay for their studies, lack of enough public schools, lack of interest, constant having to repeat the year due to old fashioned and outdated teaching, lack of motivation, frequent absenteeism of teachers, difficulty with public transport and the need to enter the work force at a young age.http://www.hart-brasilientexte.de/2009/10/05/brasilien-auf-uno-index-fur-menschliche-entwicklung-jetzt-platz-75-hinter-argentinien-chile-und-kuba/

In order for a student to strive towards a successful high school education motivation must be awakened in pre school and in primary school. How to attain this objective if our children are geneerally only at school for four hours a day? The Latin American average is six hours!

In spite of this, there have been advances during the past ten years when the number of young people between 18 and 24 who finished high school or entered university almost doubled. If in 1999 only 29.6% of students finished high school, in 2009 the number rose to 55.9%. In 1999 21.7% had 11 years of schooling (time enough to finish high school). In 2009 40.7% remained in school for 11 years. In 1999 7.9% entered university, in 2009 the number was 15.2%.

In 2009 30.8% of young people between 18 and 24 finished some sort of professional training course. In 2004 there were only 17.2%. This advancement is due to the government’s having increased the number of technical schools, as well as the “S” system (Senai, Senac[1] <#_ftn1> , etc.) and the scholarships awarded via ProUni[2] <#_ftn2> .

There is huge inequality hidden behind the positive data. In 2009 81% of young people between 15 and 17 amongst the poorest 20% were in school. Amongst the richest 20% the index rose to 93.9%. Thanks to the ProUni quota system, the number of university students over the age of 25 who referred to themselves as being Afro Brazilians doubled: from 2.3% in 1999 to 4.7% in 2009. The index for those who refer to themselves as white is four times higher: 15%.

Brazil has 3.6 million children under four years of age and the number of crèches available to them is minimal. This means that they are subjected to serious educational distractions due to long periods watching television, spending much time with adults or elderly persons or left with neighbours while their parents are at work. The Constitution, in Chapter II on Social Rights, assures “free assistance to  children or dependents from birth to six years of age in crèches or day care”. How many companies put this into practice?  

According to the IBGE there are a little over 54 million children between birth and 14 years of age in Brazil. Amongst those, 5 million, i.e. 10.9% of the total, live precariously in homes without treated water, sewers or garbage collection. Most of these children live in the Northeast i.e. 19.2%. The states of Maranhao and Piaui are the leaders. The survey shows that almost 39.4% of primary school children attend schools without sewers and 10% of these have no drinking water.

There is still much to be done. As long as Brazilian education does not reach a minimum level of quality we will continue to be an unequal, unjust, underdeveloped and dependent nation. This stands to reason for in spite of the Constitution demanding that 8% of the GNP be put towards education, the government investment in this area does not reach 5%. The Ministry of Culture’s budget for 2011 is below 1%.

The nepotism in the Cabinet and the election of the Tiriricas[3] <#_ftn3> is not surprising. What Brazil needs, as well as education, is to feel ashamed because the negligence or indifference in politics towards education becomes a matter for the police due to the enormous increase in urban violence.

[1] <#_ftnref1>  Senai and Senac – National Service for Industrial Training and National Service for Commercial Training.

[2] <#_ftnref2>  ProUni – University for all

[3] <#_ftnref3>  Tiririca is the name of a well known Brazilian clown who was elected to the Congress together with other celebrities such as sports stars etc.

http://www.hart-brasilientexte.de/2010/10/30/baden-wurttemberg-exportiert-mehr-als-ganz-brasilien/