D-News

Some thirty managers of institutes and foundations spent Thursday morning discussing the challenges of secondary schooling in Rio de Janeiro, at an event hosted by the Instituto Desiderata during the VI Congress of the Corporate Foundations and Institutes Group (GIFE) on Private Outreach Investment. Director Beatriz Azeredo set the ball rolling by drawing attention to the fact that there are few studies, limited investments and little systematised knowledge of this segment, stressing this as an excellent opportunity to embark on a dialogue on these issues.

A folder presenting data on secondary schooling in Rio de Janeiro was launched on this occasion, in order to highlight the main indicators already available. Having provided data for this folder, Thereza Lobo from the How are We Doing Rio (Rio Como Vamos) entity noted that this partnership is helping disseminated systematised information through this entity and hoped that: “these efforts will develop into a springboard for other places and situations”.

Representing the All for Education (Todos pela Educação) movement, Mozart Ramos underscored high drop-out rates in the 6th and 9th grades, with pupils failing to complete their education. “We must look at these two areas as emergency situations.”

Run by the Instituto Desiderata under a partnership with the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Education Bureau, the School Kids Speak Out (Megafone na Escola) project was presented and an explanatory folder was handed out to the attendees. Addressing forty secondary schools and using the pupils themselves as researchers, this survey is intended to produce recommendations for the specific schools involved, as well as for the education network as a whole.

The Under-Secretary for Strategic Projects at the Municipal Education Bureau, Rafael Parente stressed that: “The Instituto Desiderata is doing a great job through prompting this discussion, which must begin in Rio, and then spread throughout Brazil,” emphasising the importance of working on the transition from primary to secondary school.

The Basic Education Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC), Maria do Pilar Lacerda added that schools must keep pace with modern society. “Government school education must be considered in terms of the living conditions of these children and adolescents. Secondary schools are still pursuing a logic that does not reach out to these digital youngsters, failing to build up dialogues with today’s new realities.”

Director Beatriz Cardoso from the Instituto Desiderata drew attention to the importance of the tertiary sector being able to spotlight problem areas, particularly in a somewhat forgotten segment. Representing the Centre for Studies and Research in Education, Culture and Community Action (CENPEC), Maria do Carmo Brant closed the meeting by inviting the attendees to forge ahead with these discussions in order to draw up simple proposals that could help bridge this transition stage.

For more detailed data on secondary schooling in Brazil and further information on the School Kids Speak Out (Megafone na Escola) project, access the Instituto Desiderata website.