Lula government blocks R$116 million from the Capes budget – 10/16/2023 – Education

The Lula (PT) government blocked R$116 million from this year’s Capes (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) budget. The budget restrictions imposed on the body, one of the main responsible for promoting research in the country, worried scientific entities.

Upon assuming the Presidency, Lula promised the resumption of investments in the area of ​​science and technology and, in less than two months, announced the adjustment of the value of scholarships for master’s and doctorate degrees in the country. Therefore, the withdrawal of resources from Capes surprised the sector.

Last Monday (9), the president of Capes, Mercedes Bustamante, participated in a hearing with scientific societies and confirmed that the body suffered, in August alone, a contingency of R$86 million.

Of the total contingency resources, R$50 million were blocked from the DPB (Directorate of Programs and Grants) and R$36 million from basic education teacher training programs. Last week, Capes was informed of the contingency of over R$30 million from the DRI (Directorate of International Relations).

In a statement, the Ministry of Finance said that the Ministry of Education is responsible for implementing Capes’ budget. Wanted by Sheet late this Monday afternoon (16), the MEC did not respond until publication.

Bustamante also said that it has already been communicated that R$50 million of the total contingency will not return to the 2023 budget. “What worries me is that the contingency could be the first step towards something more critical”, said the president at the meeting.

The federal government also presented a proposal for the Budget Bill (PLOA) for 2024, with a budget reduction for Capes, R$128 million less than this year.

“We were very surprised by these situations. Blockades are very serious, but they can still be reversed if the government reaches the target established by the Ministry of Finance. The problem is the cut expected for next year”, said Robério Rodrigues Silva, president of Foprop (National Forum of Deans of Research and Postgraduate Studies of Brazilian Higher Education Institutions).

This year’s Capes budget of R$5.5 billion is the largest in the last seven years — with R$4.6 billion going towards the payment of scholarships, both for master’s and doctorate degrees, and for researchers abroad or training of basic education teachers.

“The recent blockages/cuts in the Capes budget directly impact the quality of training for masters and doctors, thus harming the production of scientific knowledge and the ability of Brazilian higher education institutions to compete internationally in the field of research and innovation”, says an excerpt from the letter released by Foprop.

Entities such as SBPC (Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science), ABC (Brazilian Academy of Sciences) and Andifes (National Association of Directors of Federal Higher Education Institutions) also released a joint letter in which they report concern about budget restrictions.

“With the recent blockages, cuts and a very unfavorable outlook in the 2024 Budget Bill for Capes, it is difficult to believe in the motto ‘Science is back’, as it is precisely in the national postgraduate system where the central pillar of the Brazilian scientific and technological development”, says the text.

Renato Janine Ribeiro, president of SBPC, says he is very concerned about the blockages and the forecast of a smaller budget for next year.

“We know that the country’s economic situation is critical, but we have to defend the cause of science because much of the social inclusion project involves scientific development”, he said, who was Minister of Education during the Dilma Rousseff (PT) administration. .

At the end of 2022, more than 200,000 Capes postgraduate students were left without receiving scholarships after a funding freeze from the MEC (Ministry of Education), approved by the then Ministry of Economy. That year, the last of the Bolsonaro government, the agency’s budget was R$3.8 billion.