The New Education Plan in Brazil

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At the end of May, after a nearly four-year process (the initial draft was submitted in December 2010), the Brazilian Congress passed a new National Education Plan, which is now awaiting the signature of the President.

The Plan has twenty goals that seek, among other things, to make pre-school and nine years of  basic education universal and ensure that all basic education teachers (grades 1-9) have a university degree.

A quick look at news reports since the approval of the law suggests that goal number 20 (which aims to increase public investment in education to 10% of GDP over a decade) is generating most attention.

Of particular importance is goal number 7, which sets targets for the index of educational quality (Ideb) for each level of the education system.

Civil society organizations were heavily involved in the lobbying process around this project. While their responses to the law are very positive overall (especially considering how long it took to get it approved), there are some criticisms and disagreements. These are the thoughtful comments from Todos pela Educação.

A group of civil society organizations developed an Observatory to monitor the fulfillment of the Plan’s goals.

Even though it is premature to speculate about the eventual results of the Plan, I find many elements in it of what I have called The Power of Simplicity.