In addition to the low investment, the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government was also the one that made the most cuts in the Ministries of Education (MEC) and Science and Technology (MCT) since 1999, the most recent year for which there is data in the federal system. Blockages or contingencies are made by means of a presidential decree and cancel part of the resources foreseen in the annual budget. In the last four years, the MEC had 20% of its funds cut and the MCT, 44%.
The data were tabulated by the Brazilian Legislative Observatory (OLB), a research center linked to the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Uerj). Before, the highest index had been in the second government of Dilma Rousseff (PT) in which the cuts reached 15% in the MEC. At the MCT, the record was held by Michel Temer (MDB), with 29%.
THE PUSHING
In Education, the amount blocked for 2022 alone exceeds BRL 40 billion, almost double the BRL 24 billion canceled in the last three years. In Bolsonaro’s four years, the MEC’s total budget was around BRL 566 billion and around BRL 113 billion was cut. In the second Lula administration, for example, it was R$ 359 billion and R$ 21 billion, respectively.
INVESTMENTS
Another study by the same group had already shown that resources reserved for investments in education and science were the lowest in Brazil since the 2000s. for new public policies. The remainder goes towards mandatory expenses such as salaries.
The MEC had this year around R$ 3 billion for investments, well below figures between R$ 10 billion and R$ 20 billion between 2009 and 2015 (in values adjusted for inflation). According to the new survey, among the areas most affected by blockades is Capes, which this week was unable to pay more than 200,000 scholarships precisely because of a presidential decree.
RELEASE AFTER COMPLAINTS
Yesterday, at the end of the day, after great pressure, the Minister of Education, Victor Godoy, announced that R$ 460 million had been released for the portfolio and that the scholarships would be paid by the 13th.
“The cuts are not made in investments only, it is not that you promise to improve a program and then go back. They are cuts in policies that already exist and need to be maintained, they are current expenses”, says Joyce Luz, researcher at OLB and author of the study. The contingency, unlike other allocations of funds, does not require congressional approval.
Cuts in Capes went from 9% in 2019, at the beginning of Jair Bolsonaro’s government, to 28% this year.
This week, notes released by the presidency of the body show the lack of support from Education to the decisions of the Economy in recent days. “Capes will always defend the regularization of payments due to students and researchers (…), not only because of their nutritional nature, but mainly out of respect for professionals and researchers who maintain and develop Brazilian science, for which the current management of the foundation He has immense respect and admiration.”
“We are talking about these people’s subsistence, having money to pay rent, food”, says the president of the National Association of Graduate Students (ANPG), Rogean Vinícius Santos Soares.
SUPREME
after the Estadão revealed that MEC’s cash had been zeroed, student organizations filed a lawsuit with the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to demand that the presidential decree be suspended. The STF gave 72 hours, which end this Saturday, for President Bolsonaro to provide clarification on the cut.
Master’s scholarships have a monthly value of R$ 1,500 and doctorate scholarships, of R$ 2,200, and have been unchanged since 2013. Other areas that suffered significant cuts in the MEC were the National Education Development Fund (FNDE), responsible for school lunch and textbook programs, with 32% of resources cut in 2022, and federal universities, with 25%. Both are concerns of the elected government’s transition team.
There has been no increase in the amount paid for student meals since 2017. In August, the Bolsonaro administration vetoed the readjustment, corrected for inflation, approved by Congress. The justification was that this could exceed the spending ceiling, the same argument given for the cuts now.
CNPQ
At the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPQ), which finances research scholarships, was one of the bodies most affected by cuts, according to the study. Between 2019 and 2021, on average, 68% of revenues were canceled. In 2022, 40% of the total.
Sought yesterday, the MEC, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Economy did not comment on the study.
Study sees the need to readjust Capes and CNPq grants by 67.97%
According to a study carried out by the National Association of Graduate Students (ANPG), if there had been an inflationary adjustment since 2013, master’s and doctoral scholarships from Capes and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) would have increased by 67.97 %. The study takes into account the inflation data measured by the National Consumer Price Index (INPC).
For Vinícius Soares, president of the ANPG, the readjustment of graduate scholarships is not just a matter of justice for researchers. It is also essential to attract new talent for scientific production, which leads to development for Brazil. Today, 90% of research carried out in the country is carried out by graduate students.
“One of the reasons for the large dropout rate at universities and the failure to attract new talent for scientific production has been precisely the devaluation of scholarship values, which lead to a devaluation of the scientific career”, says Vinícius Soares. “Today, if a recent graduate enters the job market, he can earn double or triple what he will earn if he enters for the master’s degree.”
SCHOLARSHIPS X MINIMUM WAGE
Capes and CNPq scholarships are also outdated compared to the minimum wage. From 2013 to 2022, the minimum wage almost doubled, going from R$678 to R$1,212, while scholarships remain at the same value.
In 1995, when they were created, master’s scholarships were worth R$724, equivalent to more than 7 minimum wages at the time. In 2022, paying BRL 1,500, they are equivalent to 1.2 minimum wages. “This shows how much they have been devalued over time”, says the president of ANPG.
Post-graduate grants were readjusted only four times and all below the inflation rate. The phase with the highest number of readjustments took place between 2004 and 2008, during the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). Robério Rodrigues Silva, president of the National Forum of Pro-Rectors of Research and Graduate Studies (FOPROP), says that the lack of scholarships “is nothing new”. “Our students have struggled with basic subsistence issues even in medium-sized cities, where the cost of living is not so high,” he says.
The information is from the newspaper The State of S. Paulo.
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