Secondary education: Lula government plans to pay scholarships in March – 01/09/2024 – Education

The Minister of Education, Camilo Santana, stated this Tuesday (9) that he is working for the government to begin paying for the retention program for poor high school students in March.

The minister did not say what the exact value of the scholarship will be paid to young people. MEC calculations, however, predict around R$167 per month, which will represent R$2,000 per year for each student benefiting. In addition, the government estimates R$3,000 in savings, which will be divided into annual deposits and can only be withdrawn at the end of high school.

After meeting with President Lula (PT) this Tuesday, Camilo said that the idea is to start payment as soon as possible, but preferred not to set a date.

“I don’t like to talk about dates, but we are working so that from March onwards they [estudantes] start receiving them now,” he said.

He stated that the program depends on other bodies, such as Caixa Econômica Federal and state governments, and therefore would not give an exact date.

At the end of November, the Executive published an MP (Provisional Measure) that creates a fund to finance this policy from 2024 onwards — the text was advanced by Sheet.

Placed as a management priority, the program seeks to reduce the high dropout rates — 8.8% of students leave school in the first year of high school.

As the focus will be on students benefiting from Bolsa Família, this represents 2.47 million young people, according to information collected by the report. This amount represents 31% of the total secondary education enrollment currently, of 7.9 million.

The amount of R$2,000 per student means a disbursement of R$167 per month, if payments are made from January to December.

Regarding savings, the student receives R$800 at the end of the 1st year of high school. This value increases to R$1,000 at the end of the 2nd year and to R$1,200 at the end of the 3rd year. But the amounts of this savings can only be withdrawn at the end of the stage.

As also determined by Sheet, the design also provides for the payment of R$200 for Enem participation. The government is working to increase the participation of public school students in the exam, the main gateway to higher education.

With this design, the estimated cost for 2024 is R$7 billion. This is in line with the R$1 billion already foreseen in the budget and the R$6 billion approved in a Senate project this Tuesday (29) for this policy.

Camilo Santana also stated after the meeting that Lula should hold a meeting with all governors in January to discuss literacy goals for Brazilian students.