Though successful, military school program is at risk

The federal government and the PT have already shown signs that they may not continue the Civic-Military Schools Program (Pecim), despite the good results presented by the team of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The project, implemented in 2019, allows retired military personnel from the Armed Forces, the Military Police and the Fire Department to be assigned to schools, where they work to promote discipline and civility, in addition to other extracurricular activities. School management and subject teaching remain in civilian hands.

The focus is on schools with low performance in the Basic Education Development Index (Ideb), which assesses the quality of education in Brazil, in state capitals or metropolitan regions. Membership is voluntary. That is: the school needs to show interest in participating in the program. According to the previous management, former President Jair Bolsonaro’s team, these schools reduced violence, absenteeism and had significant learning outcomes.

According to the balance sheet released at the end of 2022, the program brought significant results, including an 82% reduction in physical violence and a 75% reduction in verbal violence. School evasion and dropout dropped by around 80%.

The program was created by decree in 2019. The measure remains in effect. But there are signs that the initiative is not part of the new government’s plans. The contact number for those interested in the program no longer works. In addition, one of the first acts of the new MEC management was to extinguish the board that took care of Pecim. The program continues to function, not least because interrupting the initiative would not be something simple, but doubts remain as to the government’s willingness to renew the current partnerships.

For retired army general Paulo Chagas, the Lula government will commit a mistake if it closes the program. “It would be a big mistake. The experience was positive in all the schools that adopted it. There was no change in the curriculum and the teaching rules and content did not suffer any change with the disciplinary and civic presence of the military”, he says, adding: “The only thing that changed was the school performance of almost all students.”

General Chagas lists what, in his view, are the virtues of military education: “Students benefit from all military virtues because they all aim at developing discipline, seriousness, responsibility, camaraderie and respect for elders. , teachers, school, family, peers and themselves, all as part of the process of forming one’s character.”

According to the latest balance, released in December, 202 schools, with 120,000 students, had joined the initiative, which employed 1,500 military personnel. The goal was to reach 216 schools in 2023.

THE People’s Gazette sought the Ministry of Education and asked if there was already a definition about the future of Pecim, but did not receive an answer. In an interview with the newspapers O Estado de S. Paulo and O Globo, Minister Camilo Santana stated that the program is still under study and that the division of tasks within the portfolio should be completed by January 24th.