This report was published in www.Guardian.co.uk , at 27,September 2010 and was written by Siân Herbert. This is a summary and the title is above.
In inimitable Brazilian style, the upcoming national elections have inspired a cavalcade of electoral pledges and corruption scandals. Yet, no candidate has yet credibly tackled the most important challenge and opportunity facing Brazil today: education.
The surge in school attendance has not been matched by a surge in quality: only 39% of Brazilians aged 25-64 have successfully completed upper secondary education(compared with 70% in UK). Education in Brazil remains under-funded, inefficiently run and disproportionately benefitting the wealthy. Brazil now needs is a cultural and structural revolution in education policy.
Education is undervalued in Brazilian society and rarely features in debates in the public and private spheres. According to UNDP`s recent Human Development Report for Latin America and Caribbe, 10 of the world`s 15 most unequal countries are located in Latin America. Failing education systems lie at the very heart of this problem.
In the recent presidential debates, have been dominated by talk of the economy, development and infrastructure, as the top two candidates follow in the ¨developmentalist¨ model taken by Lula. Investment in human resources through education, though urgently needed, does not appear to be a vote winner, and the subject has been ¨practically ignored¨ by the top two candidates.
Dilma Roussef, is campaigning on the axiom, ¨so that Brazil keeps on changing¨. Although ¨more education¨ is her fifth campaign priority. Meanwhile, the main opposition candidate, José Serra, has commited to expanding the Bolsa Familia, but has failed to put a case forward for specific educational reform. The only candidate to put education at the centre of her election campaign is the Green party`s Marina Silva, who has promised to increase GDP spending on education from 5% to 7%.
It`s time that Brazilians politicians and the public acted to turn Brazil`s education strategy on its head - diverting generous university funds for the few towards essential schooling for the many.
