06/10/2024 – 8:00
The government is evaluating changes to the Fund for the Maintenance and Development of Basic Education and Valorization of Education Professionals (Fundeb), amid questions about the increase in disbursements without the counterpart of a relevant improvement in the quality of education – as the Minister of Education has stated. Planning and Budget, Simone Tebet.
One of the alternatives being studied, according to the report, is to increase the share of Fundeb taken into account when meeting the minimum mandatory spending on Education.
This measure would have the potential to open up fiscal space of R$33 billion by 2026 without cutting mandatory education resources, according to economist and researcher at the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea) Camillo Bassi. When contacted by the report, the Ministries of Planning and Education did not comment.
Fundeb brings together the collection of federal, state and municipal taxes to finance basic education in the country, especially the payment of teachers. In addition to the money collected by States and municipalities, the Union supplements an additional portion and distributes it according to criteria of income, student enrollment and school productivity.
In total, there will be R$299 billion in public money to finance the sector in 2024 alone. The Union is expected to provide R$47.8 billion this year. The amount grows year by year because the new Fundeb, approved in 2020, determined the gradual increase from 10% to 23% of the federal government’s participation in the fund, until 2026.
Today, legislation determines that only 30% of the Union’s supplement to Fundeb is included in the calculation of the minimum minimum spending on Education. Therefore, the government needs to allocate more resources beyond Fundeb to reach the constitutional minimum. The proposal to increase this percentage would reduce the need to allocate other resources to meet the floor, freeing up space in the Budget.
“In terms of maintenance and development of education, the Union’s supplement to Fundeb is small, just 30%, but it has a huge impact on the primary result. Therefore, there is this imbalance. The government spends much more on maintenance and development of education than is minimally calculated”, explains the Ipea researcher.
The combination of the current rule means that spending on Education takes up more space in the Budget and cuts resources from other areas – just as happens with the Health floor. This leaves less money for basic sanitation and maintenance of public administration bodies, among other things. other expenses.
The information is from the newspaper The State of S. Paulo.
#rising #costs #government #evaluates #changing #Fundeb