In one year, spending on Enem triples.
The Ministry headed by Fernando Haddad, whom Lula wants to impose as a candidate in São Paulo, has spent R$ 372,5 million on the exams.
In just one year, the contract between the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (Inep) and the National High School Exam (Enem) nearly tripled: it jumped from R$ 128,5 million to R$ 372,5 million, an increase of 190%.
Published yesterday in the Official Gazette, the extract of the waiver of bidding provides for "two or more editions" of the exam under the responsibility of the University of Brasília Foundation. In practice, the service will again be carried out by the Center for Selection and Promotion of Events (Cespe), the body of the University of Brasília (UnB) that the Ministry of Education (MEC) intends to transform into a kind of "Concursobrás" (a play on words combining "Concurso" - exam - and "bras" - exam board).
The 2011 ENEM exam – which takes place on October 22nd and 23rd – had 6,2 million registered participants, a record number since its creation in 1998. Last year, INEP spent R$ 128,5 million on the consortium formed by Cespe and Cesgranrio to administer the exams to 4,6 million students. On that occasion, there was also no bidding process. In 2012, there will be two editions of the ENEM exam – one on April 28th and 29th and another in the second semester.
"The amount of R$ 372,5 million is the maximum investment that can be made in these 12 months, but only the amounts actually spent will be paid, depending on the number of editions and candidates in that period," said the Inep press office. According to the agency, the services provided by the consortium include: rental of spaces for the exam, registration and training of supervisors and coordinators of test sites, post-application activities, organization of material for processing, correction of tests and essays, and technical and statistical analysis and processing of exam results.
Inep is investing another R$ 100 million to help public higher education institutions develop questions for the Enem exam. Previously, the questions were created by professors or specialists hired directly for the task.