One step away from approval, SNE gives power to unions and prevents the fight against ideology in education

The Chamber of Deputies is one step away from approving the creation of the National Education System (SNE), a mechanism that should prevent any action to combat leftist ideologies in the classroom. The SNE model gives decision-making power to unions and also obliges the Union, states and municipalities to carry out the measures. The “SUS of education”, as the left calls it, gained even more strength during the National Education Conference (Conae) and the discussions to prepare the National Education Plan (PNE), which will define education guidelines for the next ten years.

Senator Flávio Ars (PSB-PR) headed the text that is most advanced in the National Congress. For the education experts interviewed by the People’s Gazette, the main danger of the proposal is the removal of the autonomy of governors and mayors. If the initiative is approved, federative entities will be obliged to comply with what is defined in two commissions, formed by people with greater decision-making power than the representatives elected by the population. The two commissions – the Tripartite Inter-Management Commission for Education (Cite) and the Bipartite Inter-Management Commission for Education (Cibe) – create a power structure parallel to that of the Ministry of Education (MEC) and the state education departments.

“It is a barbarity that has been brewing for a long time. In addition to being undemocratic, due to the design itself, it puts the power of education in the hands of the unions”, says Ilona Becskeházy, PhD in Education from USP.

Left-wing movements will be responsible for decisions

Education consultant Andreia Medrado explains that the idea behind the proposal presented by Arns is based on the philosophy of Marxist Dermeval Saviani. For Saviani, it is necessary to create a kind of “fourth power” that would guarantee the interests of left-wing ideologues in the classroom. The SNE commissions, composed from this perspective, would consolidate education in this vein, regardless of government changes chosen by the population.

“This system aims to centralize and unify decisions in the Union. Saviani’s idea is that the Ministry of Education does not have direct influence on decisions, but that they are taken specifically by the National Education Council and the National Education Forum”, he explains.

The two entities that will have a preponderant influence on the SNE commissions are the National Education Forum (FNE) and the National Education Council (CNE).

The FNE is one of the leftist strongholds within the MEC, whose members are representatives of several unions such as the National Union of Students (UNE), Central Única dos Trabalhos (CUT) and the Brazilian Association of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transvestites, Transsexuals and Intersex (ABGLT). The FNE was also responsible for organizing Conae 2024, in which conservative participants were harassed during the event.

The CNE is a collegiate body, historically more technical, which is also related to the MEC. The members of the CNE are chosen by the President of the Republic, but, according to the law that established it, it is necessary that civil society entities in the area of ​​education are consulted on the appointment of members.

“What we actually have is the handover of educational decisions to these types of movements and to a council that is not even completely chosen by the Ministry of Education. It is not just the centralization of education, but all education placed in the hands of the left and its social movements”, adds Medrado.

SNE is not “SUS of education”

The SNE is called the “SUS of Education” by the left to give the impression that the initiative would be positive, without showing the gap between the two sectors. According to Becskeházy, health procedures are objective and, therefore, easier to establish than in education and, therefore, the parallel is not valid. Furthermore, in the SUS, decisions are not made by a council, but by the Ministry of Health of a government elected by the people.

“When a person arrives at a medical emergency, there are very clear standards of care, with medicines, treatments and expected results. In education this is much more difficult. It is a network of establishments that receives at least 200 people a year every day, millions and millions of people, with different demands by region”, comments Becskeházy.

“Ending the pedagogical tradition, as the left and the entire globalist elite have already done, will not bring the solution we need”, highlights Medrado. She adds that “the solution we need for education includes increasing degrees of autonomy for states and municipalities. This degree of autonomy is linked to the circumstances of each region and each population”.

Proposal is under urgency in the Chamber

As a way of slowing down the legislative process and improving the discussion on the SNE in the Chamber of Deputies, some parliamentarians presented requests to hold public hearings. With the project ready for discussion in the plenary, it will be up to the President of the House, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), to decide when to discuss it.

The SNE will probably also be present in the bill that will present the National Education Plan, which defines the guidelines for education for the next decade. The system received important space during Conae, which prepared the basic text of the PNE. It is not yet possible to know under what terms the system will appear in the text of the bill that will be presented by the MEC. The PNE is expected to be approved in the first half of this year.

“The SNE is an educational tyranny”, reinforces Medrado. According to her, civil society needs to become aware of the SNE and then demand a stance from parliamentarians to block any progress.

“If we want to improve education, let’s start with a national pact to teach all children by the age of six to read and write. In which they have to read and demonstrate the compression of age-appropriate texts and do the four basic mathematical operations with numbers up to two digits. That alone would solve a lot”, concludes Becskeházy.