Brazil education minister stresses need to fight corruption

Brazil’s Education Minister Milton Ribeiro today (Feb. 14) advocated the need to combat corruption to ensure public funds serve the population.

“We no longer have thieves placed at the ministries. Enough of that. We now have to use public money on Brazilians,” he spoke at the 1st Meeting of Mayors and Municipal Managers for Education of the Península dos Grandes Lagos region, in Andradina, São Paulo.

Minister Ribeiro says he is bent on fighting the poor use of money going from the Education Ministry to the cities. “I’m obsessed in my efforts against thieves in politics. I’ve sent more than 700 mayors to Federal Court of Accounts,” he said.

The minister also mentioned the 33 percent increase in teachers’ pay floor, made official by the federal government early this month.

“Education is founded on learning to read and write. This is basic education. There’s no use building universities across Brazil. It’s the same as starting work from the ceiling,” he said.

The decree raising the salary floor for basic education professionals to BRL 3,845.63 was signed on February 4 by President Jair Bolsonaro.

Also in attendance at the event in Andradina was the country’s Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Marcos Pontes. He also noted the importance of education for young people.

“If we offer them the opportunity of having an education and then we offer them the possibility of starting their business or working at companies and have a dignified life, we can build a country,” Pontes declared.