FGV survey: Literacy in Brazil regressed 15 years during the pandemic

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The survey by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) points out that in 2019, the rate of children out of school stood at 1.39%. In 2020, this figure jumped to 5.5%.

The reasons that exacerbated the situation were school dropouts and little time in the classroom, due to the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus. In addition, investments considered crucial to recover the pre-pandemic educational level were reduced in 93.5% of Brazilian municipalities, from January to August 2021, according to the National Mayors Front (FNP).

FGV researcher and economist Marcelo Neri says there is a very significant educational backlog. The situation was particularly serious for students aged 5 to 9, a group where educational indicators had been improving the most over the past 40 years.

“The fact is that this is a decisive age (5 – 9) in terms of education, and we have regressed 15 years. Not to mention schooling time. This deterioration was higher in the poorer segments. The drop was much higher in the North of the country than in the South and Southeast,” he says.

Neri also believes that these worsening indexes may have future long-term consequences. “It may well improve, but investments in the younger age group are the most transformative,” he explains.

According to FNP (Nationwide Mayors’ Front) data released on Monday, October 18, from January through August this year, the spending considered essential for the recovery of the educational level was impacted in virtually all cities in Brazil, compared to the same period in 2020. According to the entity, 2,370 of the 2,912 cities registered in the Information System on Public Budgets in Education (SIOPE) have not yet implemented their constitutional obligation to allocate 25% of tax revenue to the educational area.

The non-government organization, which includes thousands of Brazilian municipalities as members, foresees that over 800 municipalities will close 2021 in breach of this requirement, foreseen in the Federal Constitution. Should the requirement not be met, these cities’ mayors may become ineligible for reelection. Furthermore, municipalities may also be sanctioned. In 2020, some 300 cities did not apply this constitutional minimum.

The Front believes that the scenario is dramatic, particularly because of distance learning that most schools adopted as a safety measure to contain the spread of the coronavirus. In Salvador, Bahia, for instance, only 32% of students returned to the classrooms. The Rio de Janeiro Municipal Secretariat of Education (SME) estimates that at least 25,000 students dropped out of school in the past two months.

In a technical note, the FNP says it is in favor of PEC 13/2021, passed by the Senate in September. The proposed Constitutional Amendment exempts administrators from being declared ineligible even if they do not meet the minimum spending on education. The organization claims that by doing so, preventing “hasty, reckless, and low-quality costs will be possible.”

“With the extended deadline for investing the 25% of earmarked revenues until the end of 2023, municipalities will be able to more adequately plan these investments, thereby improving public education,” it states.