Parliamentarians ask for the postponement of the National Education Conference

By means of a note, 10 parliamentary fronts requested the postponement of the National Education Conference (Conae), which is scheduled to take place on January 28, 29 and 30, 2024. In the request, the fronts draw attention to excerpts from the base text of the Conference in which the Lula government attacks “ultra-conservative policies and proposals”, such as military schools, homeschooling and the promotion of agriculture.

“An excerpt from the reference document highlights the need for an urgent opposition to ‘ultra-conservative policies and proposals’ (exemplified in the terms ‘demilitarization of schools’, ‘the brake on the advancement of home education – homeschooling’ and ‘the interventions of the Escola Sem Party and the various groups that wish to promote agribusiness through education’)”, says an excerpt from the note published this Friday (24).

For parliamentarians, Conae must promote a debate with transparency, equality and representativeness on topics based on real data.

Conae’s objective is to raise proposals for the National Education Plan (PNE), which should guide public policies in the area from 2024 to 2034.

The note also criticizes Conae’s emphasis on “diversity-affirming movements” to the detriment of movements focused on education.

As reported by People’s Gazettein October 2023, gender ideology is also present in the document that will serve as the basis for Conae discussions.

In addition to suspending the base document and postponing the Conference to the second half of 2024, parliamentarians ask the Ministry of Education (MEC) to extend the current National Education Plan (PNE).

“The base text exposes several political-ideological issues, without scientific basis, which we recommend suspending so that all economic and social sectors can actively participate in discussions […] We must ensure comprehensive representation, especially from sectors linked to education”, says the note.

The note is signed by the following groups:

Parliamentary Entrepreneurship Front
Mixed Parliamentary Front for Commerce and Services
Parliamentary Front for Commerce and Services
Parliamentary Front for Agriculture
Parliamentary Front in Support of Milk Producers
Parliamentary Front for Public Security
Bioeconomy Parliamentary Front
Brazil Texas Parliamentary Front
Evangelical Parliamentary Front
Mixed Parliamentary Front for the Semi-Arid