56.4% of Brazilian children are illiterate – Ministry of Education survey

The results of the Literacy Brazil survey, presented on Wednesday (31) in Brasília, show that in 2021, 56.4% of students in the 2nd year of elementary school were not literate, and the rest (43.6%) were considered literate.

The data are from the Basic Education Evaluation System (Saeb).

In the 2019 Saeb, before the covid-19 pandemic, the percentage of non-literate was lower: 39.7%.

The literate totaled 60.3%.

The Minister of Education, Camilo Santana (photo), commented on the low performance of the 2019 and 2022 Saeb.

“Brazil’s numbers are sad because practically 60% of Brazilian children are not literate by the end of the second year [of elementary school],” he said.

He addressed the consequences of not being literate at the right age, compromising the entire school cycle.

“It’s something we need to reverse. This generates [school] evasion, failure, and dropout.”

“Brazil loses millions of children and young people through basic education. So we need to turn off the tap on this,” he said.

HOW THE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED

The Alfabetiza Brasil survey was conducted by the Anísio Teixeira National Institute for Educational Studies and Research (Inep), linked to the Ministry of Education (MEC).

The survey heard 251 literacy teachers from 206 municipalities in the country.

Between April 15 and 23, the survey was conducted in five capitals: Belém, Recife, Brasília, São Paulo, and Porto Alegre.

The teachers gave their opinions on the application based on their classroom experience.

The literacy teachers provided information on what tasks and competencies a student at the end of the 2nd year of elementary school should master to be considered literate.

CUT-OFF SCORE

Based on the analysis of the survey results, Inep established, for the first time, a cut-off score of 743 points on the scale adopted in the Saeb to define whether the student is literate.

The score will serve as a national parameter to indicate whether the student at the end of the 2nd year of elementary school has mastered basic skills in reading small texts and writing simple texts, such as invitations or reminders.

PACT FOR LITERACY

The indicators from the Literacy Brazil survey supported the planning and execution of national educational policies focused on literacy.

The Minister of Education said President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will launch a national literacy pact soon.

The construction of the policy is being done in contact with the education secretariats of states and municipalities from all over the country.

“Since January, we have been building a great national pact. The program is ready, and the MEC will support this policy technically and financially”, he said.

The minister estimates that, with the national pact for literacy at the right age, Brazil should raise the Saeb index to 80% of literate students by the end of the second year of elementary school.

With information from Agência Brasil

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