Mercadante: education played a significant role in the improvement of the HDI (Human Development Index).

Luana Lourenço
Reporter from Agência Brasil

Brasilia - The Minister of Education, Aloizio Mercadante, said today (29) that education was the component that contributed most to the evolution of the Municipal Human Development Index (IDHM) in Brazil over the last 20 years.

According to data released today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Brazil's HDI rose from 0,493 to 0,727 when comparing data from 1991 and 2010, an increase of 47,5% in two decades. The index ranges from 0 to 1, and the closer to 1, the greater the human development.

"The most important indicator in this evolution was education; 128% of the [HDI] evolution is due to education. It was the strongest indicator, the one that showed the most improvement," the minister calculated. "Education is the driving force behind this improvement," he reinforced.

The main impact of the education component on the composition of the indicator – which also considers longevity (health) and income – is due to the increase in the number of children who have had access to education in recent years, according to Mercadante. "The younger the child, the greater the progress. When you look at children aged 5 and 6, one in three was in school 20 years ago, today more than nine out of ten are. This progress is what has been very important," he assessed.

Despite improvements in the indicators, especially in the basic education age groups, the numbers still show little progress in the percentage of the population aged 18 to 20 who have completed high school. According to Mercadante, the problem is historical and is linked to a lack of public policies for this segment.

"Why is it more difficult for the adult population to have better indicators? Because of the past," he assessed. "The challenge for Brazil is that we started from a very difficult situation. So, the older a person is, the less schooling they have compared to younger people. But the outlook is very promising," he considered.

The minister said that, to improve performance indicators in secondary education and among the population over 18, the government is investing in expanding the network of full-time schools, teacher training, and the National Program for Access to Technical Education and Employment (Pronatec). "We have 3 million enrollments in this category, and many young people today combine vocational training with regular schooling. This encourages attendance and retention in school," he said.

Edited by: Juliana Andrade