Lula Creates a Fund of $ 4 billion to Keep Poor Students in School
The plan is to provide scholarships to prevent high school students from dropping out of classes
The Lula government has created, through a provisional measure, a private fund to finance scholarships with the aim of keeping low-income high school students in school. The program will receive up to R$ 20 billion in resources from the budget and shares from state-owned or government-minority-owned companies.
The plan is to start paying the scholarships, still with an undefined value, in 2024. Young people from families registered in the Single Registry are expected to benefit. Brazil has 7.9 million students in high school. The immediate contribution amount to the fund, necessary for the program's design, is the subject of internal government negotiations.
There are doubts about the measure's compliance with fiscal rules. One of the criticisms is the possibility of using shares to inject funds into the fund, an operation that would be outside the budget. Olavo Nogueira Filho, from the Everyone for Education Movement, says the initiative is relevant but cannot be seen as a "silver bullet" for school dropout.