Lula (PT) said he wants to resume investment in Fies| Photo: Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) stated that the federal government will resume investment in the Student Financing Fund (Fies) and minimized the high cost and default rate of the program. This statement was given, this Thursday (19), at a meeting with deans of federal institutions of higher education.

Fies was a program created in 1999 by the Ministry of Education (MEC) to subsidize tuition at private universities. The government pays student fees at private institutions of higher education, and the student’s debt to the government will be paid upon graduation.

“It’s no use telling me that Fies was costing R$5 billion, that I already had a debt of R$5 billion, no problem,” he said. “’Ah, but you’re going to give up, you’re not going to pay’. It’s very little for people to think they won’t pay. Him [aluno] He didn’t even have a chance to prove whether he’s going to pay or not,” he added. Lula (PT) also said that the country has “tolerance with the rich who owe in this country” and that it needs to be understanding with young people who are in debt with Fies.