Maia rejects government amendments to the new Fundeb and postpones the vote.

Brazil Current Network - The Speaker of the House, Representative Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), rejected the proposals presented by the Bolsonaro government for Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC) 15/2015, the New Fundeb, and postponed the vote until a text “less distant” from the project of the rapporteur, Professor Dorinha (DEM-TO), approved in a special committee, is presented. The vote was scheduled for today. “If it is not far from what is in the text of Deputy Dorinha, yes, everyone wants to vote in favor and we will build that. We are in dialogue,” Maia told Agency Board.

The Chamber's proposal for the new Fund for the Maintenance and Development of Basic Education and the Enhancement of Education Professionals (Fundeb), which has broad support from society and parliamentarians, increases the Union's contribution from 10% to 20%. With this, instead of the current nine states served, 23 would be benefited.

“Fundeb has a consolidated report regarding supplementary funding. If the government wants to create another education program within Fundeb, that can certainly be accepted. But it needs to be for education. The focus is education, but if they want early childhood education to be prioritized, I agree, because only 30% of children are in daycare, and since that's not the focus of Fundeb, it has to be something supplementary,” said the president of the House.

Maia stated that if Bolsonaro intends to include children up to 3 years old in the program, as he has said, he must do so in a complementary way. He added that early childhood education for this age group can no longer be a welfare policy, but an educational one.

The parliamentarian also stated that he is against postponing the implementation of the changes under discussion to the fund until 2022, as the government wants. According to him, the issue is urgent and the debate has been ongoing since the previous legislature. "Starting in 2021 is fundamental, it's a broad consensus in the Chamber and from a fiscal point of view it will have no impact," he argued. "We are going to have a very complicated year for children in 2020, many will almost lose the year, and postponing the Fundeb until 2022 sends a very negative signal," he considered.

New Fundeb

For National Confederation of Education Workers (CNTE), the proposals from the Ministry of Economy to PEC 15/2015 – with which the new Minister of Education, Milton Ribeiro, agrees – are based on reducing the Union's participation in Fundeb, which represents a serious socio-educational setback. This is because it returns to the old concept of merging educational policies (and budgets) with social assistance.

"This concept has been superseded since the promulgation of the 1988 Federal Constitution and, subsequently, with the approval of..." Law of Guidelines and Bases of Education (LDB). But the inept and irresponsible government wants to revoke it, tearing up the Magna Carta once again – just as it has done with labor, social security, etc. legislation,” CNTE stated in a note.

Among the threats posed by the tax authorities to Fundeb, the confederation highlights the postponement of the fund's implementation until 2022, leaving education without resources in 2021 – which the organization considers a true act of treason.

The government also intends to divert half of the percentage of a new federal supplement to finance a minimum income program for the population, replacing the... Family Bag, which gained international recognition for its merits. Furthermore, the government wants to invest in the privatization of public schools, admitting the payment of voucher"This would allow private schools to use resources from Fundeb, and eliminate the sub-allocation of 70% of the Fund for the payment of salaries for education professionals – the main school expense," the CNTE highlighted in an open letter.

"Society will no longer accept these setbacks from a government that should have been deposed long ago. There has been more than..." 50 impeachment requests "To be analyzed in the Chamber of Deputies. And this misgovernment needs to fall before it completely destroys the country," says the organization.

Pediatricians support

In the morning, the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics (SBP) today released a statement supporting the proposal reported by Representative Professora Dorinha. The organization representing Brazilian pediatricians urges parliamentarians to vote in favor of the proposed constitutional amendment, because it will bring hope to Brazilian children and adolescents for access to dignified education.

“If the Government’s proposal to renew this Fund only from 2022 onwards goes ahead, the SBP believes that Brazilian basic education will face a serious crisis caused by a lack of resources,” the statement emphasizes. Furthermore, pediatricians fear a blackout in education funding, which will directly impact the remuneration of professionals working in education, the operation of school transport, the purchase of equipment and teaching materials, and the construction and maintenance of schools themselves.

Read the full note

Note to parliamentarians and the public

Brazilian pediatricians support Constitutional Amendment Proposal No. 15/15, which makes the Basic Education Maintenance and Development Fund permanent in the country. Committed to defending the interests of the 65 million children and adolescents in the country, the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics (SBP) publicly expresses its support for Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC) No. 15/15, which makes the Basic Education Maintenance and Development Fund (Fundeb) permanent and increases, by ten percentage points, over the next six years, the Union's participation percentage, currently at 10%.

According to the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics (SBP), which represents Brazilian pediatricians, the proposed changes to the Constitutional Amendment (PEC) currently under consideration jeopardize basic education in the country, which is already suffering from problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. In this regard, the organization advocates for the approval of the continuation of the Fundeb (National Fund for the Development of Basic Education), with a gradual increase in the Federal Government's contribution from the current 10% to 20% by 2027.

If the Government's proposal to renew this Fund only from 2022 onwards goes ahead, the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics (SBP) believes that basic education in Brazil will face a serious crisis caused by a lack of resources. According to experts and parliamentarians, there will be a blackout in the sector, with a direct negative impact on the remuneration of professionals, the operation of school transport, the purchase of equipment and teaching materials, and the construction and maintenance of schools.

Given the risks facing the entire population, especially the youngest, the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics (SBP) urges parliamentarians to vote in favor of the text of Constitutional Amendment Proposal No. 15/15, as presented by its rapporteur, Federal Deputy Professor Dorinha (DEM-TO), which will bring hope to the children and adolescents of the country for access to education in a dignified manner, allowing them to have an education that will help them build their future and that of the Nation.

Rio de Janeiro (RJ), July 20, 2020.