Brazil will support students in need to fight school dropouts

Brazil will support low-income students who attend high school to combat school dropout. The Pe de Meia program, signed 10 days ago by Lula da Silva, came into force this Friday and was detailed at a ceremony in Brasilia by President Lula da Silva and Education Minister Camilo Santana.

“Pé de Meia” will provide savings to every student who meets the project specifications. To do this, the student must be registered in Cadúnico, the unified registry that serves as the basis for the social programs of the central government; attend a public school and have the minimum required attendance. As savings, the federal executive body will contribute every month, starting in March, an amount equivalent to just over 37 euros, which will amount to 377 euros per student at the end of the academic year, payable in 10 equal monthly installments.

At the end of each academic year, a student who passes the exam will receive a bonus of over 188 euros, paid in one payment. In addition, students who, at the end of high school, take the national high school exam, the result of which gives them access to universities throughout Brazil and other countries, including Portugal, will receive another bonus of another 37 euros.

According to what Lula da Silva and Camilo Santana detailed this Friday, monthly deposits made into a student’s savings account can be used independently, regardless of whether they are withdrawn in full, in part or invested. The bonus at the end of each year will remain as savings until the student completes the course, acting as potential savings towards the costs of starting higher education.

In order to access the benefits, which may seem small in euros but are important for the reality of the most needy Brazilian families, in addition to the fact that the student must be enrolled in a government social program, they will have to fulfill some obligations. Namely, have a school attendance of at least 80% of the total number of classes every month and, in addition to ENEM, participate in other annual assessments carried out by the Ministry of Education to determine the performance of schools and students. The main idea is to reduce the significant increase in school dropout rates among students experiencing financial hardship as many drop out of school to work and help their families. From now on, they will be able to do this with money from savings created by the government, without interrupting their studies.

The government estimates that Pe de Meia will benefit approximately 2.5 million students this year. The program can also be combined with other government assistance, since it is not taken into account when calculating the income of families already covered by other social programs. By the end of 2026, when Lula da Silva’s current term ends, this will cost the state treasury the equivalent of €3,700 million.