Brazil’s Government Expects Full Internet Access in Urban Schools by 2020

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – At a ceremony at the Planalto Palace, attended by President Jair Bolsonaro, the government announced on Tuesday, November 19th, the expansion of the Ministry of Education’s (MEC) ‘Educação Conectada’ (Connected Education) program.

The measure involves investments of R$224 million (US$56 million) by the end of 2020. In all, approximately 70,000 schools will be served, covering a total of 27.7 million students.

Earlier this month, MEC had already announced the expansion of the program to 24,500 city schools, in addition to ensuring that other 9,900 schools included in 2018 would remain with Internet access through the transfer of funds for the maintenance of this service.

“In terms of city schools, we have over 80 percent  Internet coverage]. As for schools in the countryside, which is via satellite, coverage was zero, this year we already have 40 percent and we are starting to speed up this process,” said Minister of Education Abraham Weintraub in an interview with journalists.

In the case of rural schools, Connected Education is carried out in partnership with the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation, and Communications (MCTIC), which was granted a total of R$60 million by MEC in 2019 to implement the Internet through satellite technology.

By the end of this year, the government expects to connect 8,000 countryside schools to the Internet.

According to the portfolio, the Internet speed depends upon the speed provided in the region, but the MEC said it ensures the best available offer.

Connected Education aims to support the universalization of high-speed Internet access and promote the educational use of digital technologies in basic education.

To access the Internet connection, public institutions are required to have more than 14 students, to provide at least three computers for student use, to have at least one computer for administrative use, and at least one classroom in operation.

Textbooks

The government also launched on Tuesday a national competition for the design of the national flag for public school students. The best-rated illustrations will be printed on the cover of the fourth edition of textbooks which are part of the National Program for Books and Teaching Materials (PNLD).

Named the “1º Concurso Sua Arte no Livro Didático” (“Your Art in the Textbook — 1st Competition”), this initiative is part of the National Fund for Education Development (FNDE), a body linked to MEC, and the main funder of basic education in Brazil.

Currently, approximately seven million high school students in over 20,000 schools are served by the PNLD.

According to the rules of the competition, the top five students will win a computer and a trip to the city of São Paulo to receive the award, in addition to having their drawing printed on the books. The directors of public schools should register students’ participation through the FNDE website on the Internet.

Source: Agência Brasil

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