President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil is set to introduce a comprehensive new Literacy Policy, touted as the cornerstone of his administration’s education initiatives, as announced by official sources this Sunday.
According to Minister of Education Camilo Santana, who unveiled the policy details last week, “This program, the largest initiative from our Ministry, seeks to ensure all second-grade students in primary education can read and write at an age-appropriate level.”
Santana confirmed that in-depth discussions with municipal education secretaries and the Union of Municipal Education Leaders facilitated the development of this new policy.
The Minister further stated that with this nationwide literacy pact, Brazil is poised to boost its National Basic Education Evaluation System index to 80 percent of students reaching literacy by the second year of primary school, a significant rise from the current 43.7 percent.
As per the data released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in September 2022, two million children and teenagers aged between 11 and 19 years had dropped out before completing Basic Education.
Among affluent students, the dropout rate is just four percent, whereas for less privileged students, it is as high as 17 percent.
Experts highlight a decrease of 650,000 enrollments in Early Childhood Education for children aged between zero to five years from 2019 to 2021, likely due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
They suggest this trend can be reversed through proactive search, enhancing the quality of educational offerings, and notably expanding daycare centers.
Findings from the Alfabetiza Brasil survey indicated that only four in 10 second-grade students achieved literacy in 2021.
Current official statistics show the illiteracy rate in Brazil stands at 6.9 percent for men and 6.3 percent for women above 15 years of age.
The rate is notably higher among black or mixed-race individuals (8.9 percent), more than double that of white individuals (3.6 percent).
Santana mentioned that within the first five months of his tenure, President Lula authorized the expansion of scientific initiation and master’s and doctoral scholarships, which involved a multimillion-dollar investment.
It’s worth noting that Lula’s administration’s initial policies are beginning to yield results.
Furthermore, there has been a significant 54 percent increase in the availability of scholarships for teacher training in Brazil, including those provided by the teacher training program, along with the recalibration of federal funding for school meals.
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