Senate approves incentive for students to remain in high school

The Senate approved this Wednesday (29) the project that allows the use of resources from the Social Fund to cover expenses with a program to encourage students to remain in high school. The complementary bill (PLP 243/2023) determines that these resources will not be included in the spending limits planned for this year. The proposal was approved unanimously with 61 votes in favor and none against. Now, the text goes to the Chamber of Deputies for analysis.

The project is authored by senator Humberto Costa (PT-PE) and was approved in the form of the rapporteur’s replacement, senator Randolfe Rodrigues (Rede-AP). The incentive program must be created by specific legislation, informed the Senate Agency. The Social Fund was created by Law 12,351, of 2010, with the aim of directing resources generated by the exploration of oil extracted from the pre-salt to education.

“One of the biggest challenges in education is the retention of low-income young people in secondary education, which is also a major challenge in reducing inequalities. Completing high school is central to accessing better living conditions, contributing to breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty and extreme poverty,” said Costa when justifying the project.

The vote was scheduled for Tuesday (28), but was postponed at the rapporteur’s request for an agreement on the text. Also on Tuesday, the government published a provisional measure creating the incentive program (MP 1,198/2023) on the proposal. The text of the MP provides for the creation of an individual savings account for students from low-income families, which can be accessed after completing high school.

In the final version of his report, Randolfe partially accepted an amendment by senator Ciro Nogueira (PP-PI), which proposed limiting the amount of the Social Fund allocated to the program to R$4 billion. The amendment aimed to avoid non-compliance with the 2023 fiscal target. However, Randolfe, in the sub-amendment he presented, increased the limit to R$6 billion.

Opposition leader criticizes the way the government presented the proposal

The vote was only possible after an agreement between the government base and the opposition. To make the project viable, the government committed to removing some provisions from the MP, such as the permission to exceptionalize resources from pre-salt auctions. The opposition leader, senator Rogério Marinho (PL-RN), expressed concern with the way the project was presented and with the MP.

“The government would write a blank check to a program that was not clear,” said Marinho. He also highlighted the intention of providing equal conditions among citizens, but pointed out the low quality of education and criticized what he classified as an ideological agenda applied by the government in schools. “This is a musty government, an old government, with no new ideas,” he said.