Successful policy

Created in 2001, the Student Financing Fund (Fies) was strengthened during the PT governments. Until 2010, the program had served just over 76 students. By 2014, the number of beneficiaries had jumped to 732.672, and Fies had consolidated itself as one of the most important policies. Now, the illegitimate government is promoting a veritable dismantling of this program.

With Provisional Measure 785/17, the Temer government removes the public policy character of FIES (Student Financing Fund). And worse than that, it hands over public money to banks, including private ones. FIES resources, currently managed by the National Fund for Educational Development, could be managed by any financial institution. With a shocking detail: the money to finance the program will come from the constitutional funds of the North, Northeast, and Midwest regions, and also from BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank).

The federal government is once again gifting the financial system. According to the Provisional Measure, institutions will be responsible for defining all the financing criteria for the FIES program, which will serve more students (210 places are being offered). This includes the interest rate. The government will give money to banks to profit from, without any commitment to educational policies.

To prevent this absurdity from happening, we suggest, through an amendment, that the entire section that offers public money to private banks be eliminated. It is absurd to transfer money from constitutional funds, which are essential for development, to bankers.

As if that weren't enough, the management of FIES (Student Financing Fund) is also no longer the responsibility of the Ministry of Education. A Management Committee is created, which will decide everything about the program. The detail is that this committee will be created by decree, and the Provisional Measure does not specify criteria for its composition. Currently, the loan guarantee fund has R$ 2,2 billion, and there will still be transfers of funds. Who will be appointed by the Executive Branch to manage all this money from the people?

And there's more. The government is not only reducing the number of FIES (Student Financing Fund) places for lower-income students (up to three minimum wages per capita), but is also making it more difficult for this group to access the program. With the changes, starting in 2018 there will only be 100 scholarships for students in this income bracket, compared to 300 offered until then. The other 210 places will be allocated to students with an income of up to five minimum wages per capita.

Since loan terms will follow market rules, students from higher income brackets will have priority. Because of this, the government itself estimates that the number of vacant places in the program will increase. This reality is already being observed. The number of remaining places between the second semester of 2015 and the first of 2017 reached 155, almost a third of the total. We will fight to prevent this absurdity from becoming a reality.