The university must choose the theme of basic education as a priority and strategic, reducing its distance from school problems and actively contributing to the improvement of this sector in Brazil, defended this Wednesday (23) educator Mozart Neves Ramos, director of Articulation and Innovation of the Ayrton Senna Institute and member of the National Education Council (CNE). Professor emeritus at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), where he was rector between 1996 and 2003, Mozart participated in the third conference of the cycle “A Crise Brasileira”, held by the Institute of Advanced Studies (IdEA), in the Auditorium of the Faculty of Medical Sciences ( FCM) from Unicamp.
“If we lose the systemic vision of the value of basic education, we will be shooting ourselves in the foot all the time, and it is impressive how the university does not see this”, criticized the educator, graduated in Chemical Engineering from UFPE and PhD in Chemistry from Unicamp. . When discussing the topic “The Education Crisis”, he suggested expanding cooperation between States and municipalities, improving management and expanding education financing, demanding that authorities from different spheres of power apply the resources correctly.
For Mozart, Brazil needs to seek successful models and strategies from small and medium-sized municipalities that, often with scarce funds, obtain surprising results, with the aim of inspiring improvements in other parts of the country. According to him, cities such as Cocal dos Alves, in Piauí, and Sobral, in Ceará, can contribute to this search for solutions.
In his diagnosis of the educational crisis, the director of the Ayrton Senna Institute cited the serious problem of school dropout that prevents the achievement of training goals, both in Elementary and Secondary Education, increasingly distancing Brazil from indicators of the countries developed. “Of every hundred children who enter elementary school, only 50 complete high school. And the most serious thing is that, if we do a quick calculation, today Brazil loses, due to failure and school dropout, R$27,5 billion.”
In his conference, Mozart also presented data on the learning agenda and the meager numbers calculated by the Ministry of Education (MEC). In 2017, only 29% of students had learned what was expected in Portuguese upon completing high school. In mathematics, in the last two decades, the curve has been descending, reaching the level of only 7% of students knowing the expected content at the end of this cycle.
Examples within Brazil
In addition to his experience as a university manager, having been president of the National Association of Directors of Federal Higher Education Institutions (Andifes) between 2002 and 2003, Mozart was also Secretary of Education of Pernambuco (2003-2006), president of the National Council of Secretaries of Education (2006) and executive president of Todos Pela Educação (2007-2010). Since 2018, he has been a member of the CNE, a position he also held between 2005 and 2014.
Mozart cited the example of Pernambuco and highlighted that political discontinuity created difficulties in the management of education in Pernambuco, but highlighted that the State managed to jump from 21st place, in 2007, to first place, in 2015, in the Basic Education Development Index ( IDEB). According to him, Pernambuco currently has half of its full-time schools, which represents the largest network in Brazil. “We had a per capita student, in 2000, of R$2.100 per year in Basic Education. Today, it is R$6.300, we have tripled it. Do I have to have more money? Yes, because, if we compare with PISA [International Student Assessment Program], with the countries of the European Community, the per capita student is much higher. But it’s not just about money, we have to improve management,” he stated, giving an example with national financing data.
Dialogue and plurality
He criticized the current federal government's lack of direction in the area of education and declared that, in order not to be “hostage” to ideological disputes, it is necessary to present new ideas and proposals to move forward. Mozart commented on the fact that he had received and accepted an invitation, in 2018, to take over as MEC from the Jair Bolsonaro government, but was assertive in saying that he realized that the initiative would not be successful. Despite the offer, there was a subsequent retreat and his name ended up being vetoed for the position.
Regarding his career as an education manager, he said he values the plurality of opinions in the search for a “greater good” for the community. “I have never been a member of any party and have always had very clear positions about what I believe in society. I try to have dialogue from A to Z and I always try to get from each person what could be best for society. Some criticize me for it, others praise me.”
At the conclusion of the conference, the educator suggested the creation of promotion policies within the university for a more assertive role in the country's basic education, claiming that the goals of scientific production and technological innovation are insufficient. “To change Brazil, we have to take strategic action, especially at a time when we do not have a Ministry of Education that should coordinate policy. Now, more than ever, we need to have universities, especially those that are leaders in the country, such as Unicamp and USP, to be able to play this leading role nationally. Because, otherwise, we will be left in a big void, in a big vacuum, and the cost of this will be much greater in the future.”
The event also included the participation of the general coordinator and acting dean of Unicamp, Teresa Atvars, the president of the Scientific and Cultural Council of IdEA, Carlos Vogt, and the journalist Paulo Markun, responsible for mediating the event. “The Brazilian Crisis” is an initiative that aims to bring important names from different areas of knowledge to Unicamp as a way of stimulating the discussion of current topics in search of diagnoses and solutions for the various crises that afflict the country's life.
The first conference took place on September 18th, with economist Luiz Gonzaga Belluzzo speaking about “The Economic Crisis”. Afterwards, the philosopher João Carlos Salles addressed the topic “The University Crisis”, on October 9th. Lectures by diplomat Rubens Ricupero (“International Relations”, on the 6th) and by lawyer and former Minister of National Integration Ciro Gomes (“Science, Technology and Development”, on the 22nd) are confirmed for November. Registration for the conference with Ricupero can be made at IDEA website.
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