Schools suffer from lack of structure and resources – 05/21/2023 – Education

More than half of the professionals who work in public schools in the country consider that the financial and pedagogical resources received by the units are insufficient for their work to be done properly.

The data are from the School Census, from the Ministry of Education, and show how the lack of adequate physical structure, materials and professionals is yet another challenge faced by teachers to teach. According to them, the difficulties hinder the pedagogical activities and demotivate the students.

Education professionals point out insufficient financial resources for the needs of the school. In addition, for 50%, the pedagogical resources fell short of what was needed.

The data also show that, even with the Covid-19 pandemic, when the need for technological support was evident, less than half of the schools have internet available for pedagogical activities or computer to be used by students.

“We hear this speech that the teacher has to update himself, offer a 21st century class. But we arrive at the school and we have nothing that allows this. Sometimes, there is not even enough paper to pass on an activity to the students. Then, we heard that the problem in education is the poorly prepared teacher”, says Martha Pessoa, 46, a teacher in the municipal network of Búzios, in Rio de Janeiro.

Since the beginning of the year, Martha has been teaching inside a container, which was transformed to receive students while the school building is being renovated. “The school was closed for two years during the pandemic and they didn’t do any renovations. When we got back, everything was falling apart.”

“The solution was to put us in a container covered by a tarp. We get very hot because we’re inside a can. Apart from the noise, I teach and listen to the teachers and students in the other classrooms”, says Martha, who is teacher of the third year of elementary school.

She teaches children who are learning to read and write, but does not have access to didactic games to use in the classroom. “It’s a phase where teaching needs to be playful, it’s no use just having a book and a handout. If I want something different, I have to do it myself.”

According to census data, 78.7% of municipal schools (where more than 80% of children studying in the early years of elementary school are enrolled) have educational games and only 30.2% have materials for artistic activities.

“We don’t have resources available to make the school more attractive. The teacher has all the responsibility, without any support”, says Martha. A Sheet sought the City Hall of Búzios, but did not receive an answer.

Even in São Paulo, the richest city in the country, teachers report difficulty in accessing resources that would help in the classroom. A teacher at a municipal school in the south zone tells that his unit received multimedia equipment (computer, audiovisual projector) three years ago, but they were installed incorrectly and so far have not been able to be used.

For him, the situation shows that there is no concern with public resources, since the school management complained about the installation problem without there being a solution on the part of the city hall.

The teacher, who asked not to be identified, also claims that the school has been facing a problem of infiltration and mold on the walls for years. For him, the poor state of conservation of the unit impacts on the motivation of the students.

In a note, the City of São Paulo says that a technician from the company responsible for installing the equipment will be sent to the school. Still according to management Ricardo Nunes (MDB), the last repair on the roof of the unit was carried out on the 12th of this month and that the school received R$ 1.2 million for maintenance and minor repairs.

Andreza Barboza, researcher at Repu (Public School and University Network) and specialist in teaching work, says that the lack of minimally adequate conditions in public schools should be seen as violence to which teachers and students are subjected.

“The teacher having to teach in the summer in a room without curtains or a fan and the student having to use a bathroom without toilet paper are situations of violence. Society sees it as something normal as it is so commonplace.”

For her, the educational public policies that are being implemented in the country are not successful because they do not consider that schools need better structure and resources. “It’s no use having a policy that defends, for example, science teaching based on evidence, if schools don’t have a laboratory. Or the current public power fetish for the use of technology in education, without having internet in schools.”

Pedro Santos, a teacher at a state school in São Paulo, says that this year the unit is offering classes in an elective music discipline, however there are no musical instruments available. “For the students, it becomes a joke. These are poorly thought out, poorly planned situations and the teacher is the one who ends up being held responsible.”

The lack of adequate structure for teaching is added to the excess of students per teacher and the low pay of the profession. “These factors make the profession very sickening and place all the responsibility for teaching on the teacher’s shoulders. They work in extremely adverse conditions and are still blamed for the low educational results in the country”, says Andreza.