RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Education Minister, Abraham Weintraub, announced yesterday, September 30th, in Brasília, that the Ministry of Education (MEC) will allocate 58 percent of the unblocked funds to renew the budget of the universities and federal institutes.
The funds, according to the MEC, will cover costs such as expenses with water, electricity, purchase of consumables and other services.
The announcement of the release of the budget was made on March 20th by the Ministry of Economy. The release is provided for in Decree 10,028 published in the Official Gazette of the Union last Friday, September 27th.
In all, the government released R$8.3 billion (US$2.1 billion) of this year’s budget. Among the ministries, the one that had the highest amount in grants was Education, with R$2 billion.
Of the total released for the MEC, universities will receive R$1.156 billion. With this, these institutions, which had, on average, 30 percent of the discretionary resources blocked at the beginning of the year, will continue with 15 percent of these contingent funds, according to Weintraub.
At the beginning of the month, other R$584 million was made available to institutions. With the release, R$3.8 billion remains blocked for the MEC.
Other resources
The other discontinued resources will be allocated to basic education, postgraduate scholarships, and educational examinations, in accordance with the MEC.
For the National Textbook Program (PNLD), R$290 million will be allocated, which, according to the Ministry, ensures the continuity of the program in 2020. This program aims to purchase and distribute textbooks to public schools.
Other R$270 million will be allocated for the payment of current scholarships granted by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES).
The National Institute for Educational Studies and Research (INEP) will receive R$105 million for the application of exams and formulation of educational policies.
Source: Agência Brasil