Lula sanctions law that provides for negotiation of Fies debt – 11/01/2023 – Education

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) sanctioned this Wednesday (1st) the law that proposes a new renegotiation of student debts in Fies (Student Financing Fund).

The text was sanctioned, without vetoes, during a closed ceremony at Palácio do Planalto.

According to the federal government, there are currently 1.2 million contracts in default under Fies, with a debt balance of R$54 billion.

The Fies renegotiation proposal is one of the items of the law, whose central focus is the establishment of a pact for the resumption of stopped works, in particular health and education. The student issue was included, at the request of the federal government, while the proposal was being processed in the National Congress.

The law creates more favorable repayment conditions for students with Fies contracts signed until the end of 2017 and who have debts due on June 30 of this year.

The sanctioned text provides that students who have outstanding and unpaid debts by June 30th of this year will be able to negotiate them.

For those who have debts overdue for more than 90 days, there will be a 100% discount on charges and up to 12% of the principal amount for payment in cash. If payment is made in installments, it can be made in up to 150 successive monthly installments — with a 100% reduction in interest and fines, but without a reduction in the principal amount.

In cases of debts that are overdue and unpaid for more than 360 days and if the student is enrolled in the federal government’s CadÚnico (Cadastro Único) or has received Emergency Aid in 2021, there will be a discount of up to 99% of the consolidated value of the debt (including the principal) if it is paid in full.

For students with overdue debts that have not been paid for more than 360 days, but who are not registered with CadÚnico nor received Emergency Aid in 2021, the discount will be up to 77% of the consolidated value of the debt, if paid in full.

Fies is a financing program in which the government pays the monthly fees (full or partial) of students at private institutions. The debt is paid off by students after a grace period. The program’s Guarantee Fund is supplied by both the government and institutions

STOPPED WORKS

According to the federal government, 5,662 works in the field of education and 5,489 in health should be resumed. The works must be completed within 24 months, extendable once for the same period.

The MEC (Ministry of Education) estimates that the investment to complete all works that can be resumed is R$6.2 billion.

The law also establishes guidelines for the application of resources from the Aldir Blanc Policy, which deals with investments in the area of ​​culture.