The rapporteur of the bill, the Deputy Rogério Marinho will condition the release of resources to the inclusion of preschool and of high school in obligatory education.

The rapporteur of the Proposal of a Constitutional Amendment (PEC) 277/08, Deputy Rogério Marinho (PSB-RN), affirmed that his review will propose the inclusion of preschool and high school in the concept of obligatory, public and free education. That condition currently is limited to elementary and middle school. Marinho’s review will be released this Tuesday (10), and voted at the committee next Tuesday (17).

The idea was defended by the minister of Education, Fernando Haddad, in a meeting of the special committee, which is analyzing the PEC. If the proposal passes in Congress, children and teenagers will have the right to be in public school at the expenses of the State from 4 to 17 years old, and no longer only from 7 to 14 years old.

The changes defended by the deputy have the support of the Ministry of Education, but have not yet been endorsed by the ministries of Finances and Planning. “The financial area is worried, and is right to be worried, because of the international conjuncture, which influences ours. We hear bad news everyday in macro-economy”, said Marinho.

New linking of resources
Marinho also said that his review links the increase of resources to the financing of the broadening of obligatory education. That increase results from the elimination of the calculation on the Unlinking of the Union’s Income (DRU) from the budget on education. DRU unlinks 20% of the Union’s tax income, and g to federal government more freedom to distribute resources from the budget among the programs that it assesses as priorities.

In order for it to be possible, the text should establish that the resources of education, which will no longer be transferred from that area by the mechanism of DRU, be transferred to the states and municipalities. “Our worry is exactly to avoid that the effort of globalization be supported only by the states and municipalities, which are already surcharged by several of obligations, including those in the area of education”, explained the rapporteur.

Scheduled reduction
The version of the PEC which was approved at the Senate establishes that the end of the applying of DRU on the budget of education will be scheduled. It will drop from the current 20% to 10% in 2009, 5% in 2010, and will end in 2011. The review by Marinho maintains this scheduling and changes only the percentage for the cutback for 2009, which will go to 12.5%.

Report - Edvaldo Fernandes
Editing - Maristela Sant'Ana
Translation – Positive Idiomas Ltda