The High School Reform

The government's proposed reform of secondary education, based on the paradigm of developing skills for the job market, goes against the grain of history because it reverts to neoliberal logic.

The social function of the school goes far beyond the aspirations of the market and cannot be confused with the ultimate goal of education, which is the human being as a historical being.

The project proposes compulsory vocational training similar to that implemented by the military dictatorship (LDB/71), the catastrophic results of which we all know. In the market, what works today may not work tomorrow. Technological advances will demand new skills, and students who lack a solid basic education will be at a disadvantage because they will not be able to adapt to the new demands.

Subordinating education to market needs means accepting capitalist competition and denying a polytechnic conception of education structured on critical thinking and reflection.

The imposition of high school reform through a Provisional Measure without broad debate with those involved in education—teachers, parents, students, universities, and entities that constitute the National Education Forum—is merely the backdrop for a strategy of including private schools in the National Fund for the Development of Basic Education (FUNDEB), expanding resource transfers to the private sector, notably the "Sistema S" (a group of private, non-profit vocational training institutions).

The political misconception is expressed in the disregard for the Federated States responsible for 86% of high school enrollments and those who shape education in the country, whose accumulated experience and practices are inexhaustible.

The biggest misconception is regarding content, because it enshrines the principle of duality, that is, courses for those entering the job market and courses for those continuing their studies, reinforcing the pathways of schools for elites and mass schools to educate students in general, contradicting the principles of civic education that fosters equality of access and opportunity.

This new architecture carries the stain of sin because it disorganizes the entire education system and represents a frontal attack on the teaching profession because it allows the hiring of unqualified teachers and, furthermore, because it erodes the National Minimum Wage for teachers, in addition to representing a simplification of training, a disconnection from research, and the devaluation of the school as a "locus" of comprehensive education.

Questions abound: how will a country that freezes investments for 20 years finance the reform? Will there be a fixed source of funding? How will the costs of increased school control and management expenses be covered? How will teacher training be provided?

There are countless obstacles to its implementation: a) it increases public spending; b) the availability of qualifications may be unequal between schools and networks; c) it undermines teacher qualifications; d) it harms the cultural development and health of students; e) the amount of funds transferred to the states will depend on financial availability.