Quality education would cost country $11 billion yearly
Brazil would have to triple the yearly amount of money invested in public school student to ensure education under the lowest acceptable quality standards, 
Brazil would have to triple the yearly amount of money invested in public school students to ensure education under the lowest acceptable quality standards, says the National Campaign for the Right to Education, an association made up of over 200 organizations. The estimate would represent an extra $11 billion put in the country's public schools every year, with their 40.7 million students enrolled.
The educational stage facing the most urgent need for investment is that of day care, serving children of up to three years of age. For a full-time schedule, the ideal value would be $2.960 thousand per student. Today, costs total $975—an estimate based on figures from the Fund for the Maintenance and Development of Basic Education and Education Professionals (Fundeb), released by the campaign.
Among the factors taken into account are resources earmarked for infrastructure, supplies and equipment, apart from teachers' pay.
The investment calculated by the campaign corresponds to the CAQi—an index created as part of the campaign itself, which establishes how much an individual needs in order to have access to education under minimum quality standards. Among the factors taken into account are resources earmarked for infrastructure, supplies and equipment, apart from teachers' pay.
A table unveiled by the campaign shows up-to-date figures for all educational stages. For full-time preschool students, the amount for a single child should stand at $1,480, compared to today's $975; as for elementary school and high school, $1,419, against the current $975. Education aimed at the indigenous populations and members of quilombola communities, in turn, should rise from the $916 currently invested to $1,803 per student.
Campaign Coordinator Daniel Cara says that, in addition to the number of students already enrolled, Brazilian schools should welcome another 2.8 children and adolescents, costing an additional $3.84 billion for infrastructure and another $3.84 billion for keeping those students at school.
“The data make it clear that virtually all of Brazil's students, except those in the wealthier states, need some sort of complementary [financial] assistance from the federal government to ensure minimum quality standards. This agenda will have to be discussed,” he notes.
According to the Anísio Teixeira National Institute for Studies and Research on Education (Inep), the federal government contributes with 18% of direct investment in education; states, with 40%; and municipalities, 42%.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Quality education would cost country $11 billion yearly
