D-Notícias

Conducted by the Ação Educativa educational outreach organisation, the Seminar on The Education Development Plan: Outcomes and Challenges gathered together leasing names for an assessment of years of hard work.  The Desiderata Education Area staff attended this Seminar, which was held on September 14 and 15 in the auditorium at the Alliance Française in São Paulo.

Education Minister Fernando Haddad opened this event with an overview of what he felt was progress in the field of education.  According to the Minister, “Some steps ushered in by this Plan have eased the discomfort caused by political cycles.  An Articulated Action Plan is now in place that must be followed by State and Municipal Governments even after the changes introduced by the elections.”

The first panel discussed issues related to access and quality of education.  Speaking of the progress and challenges prompted by the implementation of the Basic Education Development Index (IDEB), Vera Masagão from Ação Educativa underscored the fact that State and Municipal Governments are preparing their own assessments, forcing pupils to take several tests.  She stressed “the need for better coordination among the various spheres of Government.  The Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) has the Brazil Test in Portuguese and Mathematics, while the States and Municipalities could assess learning processes in other subjects.”

The progress achieved by this Plan in matters related to diversity was the subject of discussions during the second panel session.  In his presentation, the Secretary of the Ongoing Education, Literacy Training and Diversity Bureau (SECAD) André Lazaro mentioned the importance of the survey of public x private partnerships commissioned by the Instituto Desiderata in Rio de Janeiro, stressing that studies like this should be conducted in all municipalities in Brazil. 

The following day, this event discussed the share-out of responsibilities among the Federal, State and Municipal Governments, with the panel agreeing that the States have not been pursuing the cooperative approach proposed by the Educational Guidelines and Bases Act (LDB).  Social Participation and Control was the topic explored by the second panel session of the day.  Federal Representative Maria do Rosário, who chairs the Education and Culture Commission in the Federal Chamber, noted that: “Social control processes cannot be linked only to financing.  Educational political projects also require participation and control by society, which is not happening today.”

A video with the full contents of this Seminar will be available shortly on this website: www.observatoriodaeducacao.org.br..