| *** THE MODERN DAY BRAZILIAN EDUCATION | | | | Whilst Goldman Sachs was the one of the first |
| SYSTEM *** | | | | international investment banks to promote Brazil as a |
| Long criticised as being comparatively inferior | | | | future economic superpower, it has been keen to |
| (particularly for the lower demographic of society) to | | | | stress that improvements in education are |
| other developing countries, Brazil has a long way to | | | | fundamental for the country to be able to maximise |
| go before its compulsory education system is where | | | | its future potential. It is widely thought that the |
| it needs to be in terms of both improving the | | | | average standards are not meeting the increasingly |
| competitive intelligence of future generations and | | | | important relevance the country is having on a global |
| reducing poverty. The Instituto de Pesquisa | | | | scale. In the medium to long term, it is imperative |
| Econômica Aplicada indicated that the average | | | | that Brazil's welfare state decreases and the |
| 25-year-old in modern day Brazil has only nine years | | | | knowledge and skills base of the country moves the |
| of education; 10 percent of the population is illiterate | | | | other direction. |
| and one-in-five students are in the wrong grade for | | | | One positive step has been to encourage more |
| their age because they have had to repeat a year of | | | | teachers to enter the profession - many have been |
| studies. | | | | put off due to long hours, bad working conditions and |
| However, Brazil does has positive educational results | | | | low pay. The setting of the salary floor at $BRL 950 |
| for the last thirty years and quantitative studies at | | | | per month received criticism for being too broad |
| the elementary level have illustrated that standards | | | | based and not taking into account regional |
| are improving (albeit at a slow pace). Research by | | | | differences (although was generally seen as a step in |
| the Instituto Brasileiro de Geographia e Estatística | | | | the right direction). Other progressive measures |
| (IBGE) indicated that the issue of poor educational | | | | include funds such as FUNDEF (a sub-national grant |
| levels is mostly common in rural areas: statistics | | | | scheme aimed at assisting primary and lower |
| published in late 2007 stated that the rural population | | | | secondary education) and FUNDEB (which, by 2007, |
| over 15 years has a mean 4.3 years of schooling | | | | had granted more than BRL$ 30 billion for basic public |
| while the urban mean is 7.7 years. The illiteracy rate | | | | education benefiting nearly 50 million students). |
| in the rural sector is 30 percent for those over the | | | | Furthermore, in order to be eligible for the Bolsa |
| age of 15 and only 27 percent of the 15-17 rural age | | | | Família grant, children aged between seven and |
| group are choosing to remain in secondary education. | | | | fifteen must be enrolled in school and not miss more |
| Conversely, World Bank data in late 2008 | | | | than 15 per cent of classes (due to the early stages |
| demonstrated that the most progress in elementary | | | | of the programmes development, statistics on its |
| schooling between 1992 and 2001 was within the | | | | effectiveness are too hard to predict, but it is |
| poorer part of the population (enrolment in primary | | | | claimed to have had a positive impact on school |
| education rose from 97 to 99 for the richest 20 per | | | | attendance levels). |
| cent of Brazil and from 75 to 94 percent for the | | | | At the two year anniversary of the vast oil findings |
| poorest 20 percent). The same study pointed to the | | | | off the south coast of Brazil, President Lula was seen |
| fact that; because illiteracy ranges from 2.7 percent | | | | issuing congressional bills with the intention of |
| for the population aged 15-19 to 30 percent for | | | | diverting a significant portion of the country's oil |
| those between 65-69; the educational imbalances of | | | | wealth towards improving education systems |
| the population look set to change over time. | | | | (amongst other welfare provisions). The ever popular |
| The number young Brazilians opting for higher | | | | national lottery in Brazil continues to donate over 5 |
| education has also increased (enrolments were 1.7 | | | | percent of its profits to the Ministry of Education. |
| million in 1994 rising to 4.9 million 2008) - however, | | | | There have also been a number of the country's |
| this statistic remains lower than its South American | | | | leading companies (including Embraer, Petrobras, |
| counterparts such as Argentina and Chile. | | | | Randon and Vale) developing their own educational |
| *** THE FUTURE OF BRAZIL'S EDUCATION | | | | establishments to improve skills shortage gaps. |
| SYSTEM *** | | | | |