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UNESCO: Round Table on Literacy

Action Plan for 2012-2015

Ensuring child literacy and decreasing

Illiteracy rates for young people, adults and the over 60s

Ministry of Education

Brazil

September 2012

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Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 3

1. Context .................................................................................................................................. 4

1.1 Legal framework ........................................................................................................ 4

1.2 Federative organisation of education in Brazil ......................................................... 5

1.3 Financing literacy....................................................................................................... 5

2. General overview of the Action Plan for 2012/2015 ............................................................ 6

2.1 The National Pact for Literacy at the Correct Age ......................................................... 7

2.1.1 Background: the number of illiterate children ...................................................... 7

2.1.2 General overview of the Pact .............................................................................. 10

2.1.3 Pact objectives and actions ................................................................................. 10

2.1.4 Beneficiaries ........................................................................................................ 10

2.1.5 Activities proposed with products, results and indicators .................................. 11

2.1.6 Managing implementation and the governance structure ................................. 12

2.1.7 Existing sponsoring institutions ........................................................................... 13

2.1.8 Partnerships ........................................................................................................ 14

2.1.9 Evaluation and monitoring .................................................................................. 14

2.1.10 Risks and risk management ................................................................................. 14

2.1.11 Estimated budget for 2012-2015 ........................................................................ 15

2.1.12 Timeline ............................................................................................................... 16

2.2 Literate Brazil Programme (PBA) ................................................................................. 18

2.2.1 Background: the number of illiterate young people, adults and over 60s ......... 18

2.2.2 General overview of the Literate Brazil Programme ........................................... 20

2.2.3 Objectives of the Literate Brazil Programme ...................................................... 21

2.2.4 Beneficiaries ........................................................................................................ 22

2.2.5 Activities proposed with products, results and indicators .................................. 22

2.2.6 Managing implementation and the governance structure ................................. 22

2.2.7 Existing sponsoring institutions ........................................................................... 23

2.2.8 Partnerships ........................................................................................................ 23

2.2.9 Evaluation and monitoring .................................................................................. 26

2.2.10 Risks and risk management ................................................................................. 27

2.2.11 Estimated budget for 2012-2015 ........................................................................ 27

2.2.12 Timeline ............................................................................................................... 27

3 Attachment I – Form ........................................................................................................... 29

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Introduction Brazil has been making great advances with its population’s literacy levels. According to a Demographic Census taken in 2010, the illiteracy rate for those aged 15 or over has decreased from 25.4% in 1980 to 9.6% in the last thirty years. If we use the current population and hypothetical demographic stability as a reference point, this evolution would mean that 22.8 million Brazilian young people, adults and those aged over 60 would have become literate during the period, as a consequence of actions implemented by the federal, State and municipal governments and non-governmental organizations.

In the specific case of children and teenagers, increased access to school in Brazil has also been a notable factor in the last thirty years. If only 75.5% of the population aged between 7 and 14 attended school1

In turn, the attendance rate for the population aged 4 and 5 at pre-schools, which was 51.4% in 2000, rose to 80.1% in 2010, representing 4.6 million children. In addition, attendance at nurseries for the population aged between 0 and 3, which covered 9.4% of the population in this age range in 2000, was applicable to 23.6% of this segment in 2010, which is equivalent to 1.9 million children.

in 1981, this rate rose to 96.9% of children and teenagers in this age range in 2010, which is equivalent to 25.5 million Brazilians, in accordance with the 2010 Demographic Census. For the population aged between 6 and 14, which became the age range that corresponds to 9 years of basic education, which was established as compulsory in 2006, the attendance rate was 96.7% in 2010, representing 28.2 million people.

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Apart from the quantitative aspect, the Basic Education Development Index (IDEB), an indicator which gauges the quality of Brazilian education by measuring school flows and proficiency in Portuguese and Mathematics, has been demonstrating extremely positive advances for the first five years of basic education.

More specifically, as fundamental parts of efforts to expand access and improve the quality of education and learning, illiteracy has been tackled in Brazil using strategies which are structured on two major lines:

- Priority assistance for children in order to ensure total literacy at the appropriate stage;

- implementation of literacy and education programmes for young people, adults and those aged over 60s who had not been able to secure this right at the appropriate age.

In response to a UNESCO request and within the scope of the High-Level International Round Table on Literacy, the Ministry of Education presents these two government strategies which aim to ensure literacy for all children by the end of the third year of basic education and reduce illiteracy in young people, adults and the over 60s during the period 2012/2015.

1 Prepared by the Institute of Applied Research (IPEA) from National Research by Home Sampling (PNAD). 2 Demographic Censuses in 2000 and 2010.

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1. Context

1.1 Legal framework

Article 214 of the 1988 Federal Constitution states that a National Education Plan (PNE) should be established by law, being valid for ten years. Bill No 8035/2010, which covers this plan, is currently being processed by National Congress. In the final approval phase by the Chamber of Deputies, the substitute draft Bill which was approved by the Special Education Commission establishes the eradication of illiteracy as its policy and allocates two objectives to the literacy theme: objective 5 of “Teaching all children to read and write by the end of the third year of basic education at the latest”; and objective 9 of “Raising the literacy rate for the population which is aged 15 or over to 93.5% by 2015 and eradicate total illiteracy and reduce the functional illiteracy rate by 50% by the end of the validity of this PNE.” In addition to these objectives, the Bill establishes strategies for these targets to be attained.

However, it should be emphasised that combating illiteracy is not established with the National Education Plan which is now being processed. Article 214 of the 1988 Federal Constitution defends the eradication of illiteracy. More recently, however, another previous and important legal landmark was Decree 6.094/2007 which established the Complete Commitment to Education programme within the scope of the Ministry of Education’s (MEC) Education Development Plan (PDE). This commitment to directives related to access, permanence, quality and equity in education was agreed by all Brazilian States and municipalities, with a view to organized and systematic collaboration between federal institutions. Within this set of directives, there are two which are specifically related to literacy, disclosing a systemic approach to educational policy: clauses II and XI respectively, which defend “teaching children to read and write by the age of eight at the latest and verifying the results using a specific, periodical exam” and “running a literacy programme for young people and adults”. It is under this legal framework that various federal, State and municipal Government initiatives have been implemented.

In addition to the specific institutional legal framework for educational policy, Ministry of Education initiatives are also aligned with strategies to tackle poverty, which are components of the Brazil Without Abject Poverty Plan, coordinated by the Federal Government. This plan was created in 2011, with the objective of improving the population’s living conditions, income and citizenship, implementing actions to transfer income, providing access to public services in the areas of education, health, social welfare, sanitation and electricity and productive inclusion.

The main strategy for developing the Brazilian Without Abject Poverty Plan is the creation of new programmes and expanding existing initiatives, with the view to increasing and improving the quality of public services provided to those living in extreme poverty, in partnership with the States, municipalities, public and private companies and non-governmental organizations.

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1.2 Federative organisation of education in Brazil

The distribution of expertise between federal institutions in Brazil, which should be organized collaboratively, is defined by the Federal Constitution. It is the Union’s responsibility to organize the federal educational system, finance federal public educational institutions and exercise a redistributive and supplementary function for educational subjects, so as to guarantee equal educational opportunities and a minimum standard of quality in education by technical and financial assistance to the States, Federal District and municipalities.

With respect to basic education, the municipalities prioritise basic and child education, while it is the States and Federal District’s responsibility to give precedence to basic and secondary education. This distribution of responsibilities refers both to regular education, forms of special education and for young people and adults.

1.3 Financing literacy

With regards to financing, it should be emphasised that the 1988 Federal Constitution defines budgetary obligations, where resources must be applied to education. In summary, 18% of income from Federal Government taxes and 25% from State and municipal taxes must be applied to maintaining and developing education. With a view to equalizing its application in basic education, is the Fund to Maintain and Develop Basic Education and the Increased Value of Education Professionals (FUNDEB), which links budgetary availability to the number of enrolments in State and municipal networks within the scope of each federal State. It is the Union’s responsibility to supplement each State’s fund, whenever the average value per student does not reach a determined national minimum, which is currently R$1,846.56 per year.

There are no specific legal obligations for teaching children or young people and adults to read and write, although resources are distributed in accordance with enrolments, also taking a wide range of factors into consideration.

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2. General overview of the Action Plan for 2012-2015

Strictly speaking, the Brazilian Government has two plans to combat illiteracy: one refers to teaching children to read and write up until a specific age, which is considered appropriate, and the other to tackle illiteracy for those aged 15 and over. Both will be covered separately in this report.

Firstly, however, in relation to objectives, it should be noted that Bill No 8.035/2010, which establishes the National Education Plan (PNE) and is currently being processed by National Congress, institutes the goal of teaching all children to read and write by the end of the third year of basic education at the latest.

In relation to eradicating illiteracy among young people and adults, the goals defined by the Federal Government in its Three Year Plan (PPA 2012-2015) prioritise a reduction in illiteracy rates, especially for women, residents in the countryside and Afro-descendants and a decrease in functional illiteracy, in order to reach the PNE objective.

Generally speaking, the goals instituted in the PPA 2012-2015 were created with the aim of establishing an intermediary marker for the commitments stated in the National Education Plan proposed by the Federal Government, which is valid for 10 years. The current goals, which are foreseen in the Bill which substitutes PL-8.035/2010, are of raising the literacy rate for those aged 15 or over to 93.5% by 2015, eradicating total illiteracy and reducing functional illiteracy by 50% by the end of the PNE’s duration.

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2.1 The National Pact for Literacy at the Correct Age

2.1.1 Background: the number of illiterate children

Teaching children in Brazil to read and write is still a major challenge. Data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics’ (IBGE) Demographic Census demonstrates the following percentages of children who were not literate by the age of 8, which is the age considered appropriate in Brazil34:

Illiteracy rate at age 8 (IBGE Census)

200-2010 Variations

Northeast

North

Brazil

Centre-West

Southeast

South

Obs: The question asked to the resident by the Census is: does the child “know how to read and write?” 3 The indicator selected from the IBGE Demographic Census is the only one on child literacy which is available on a regular basis. However, it results from a simple question which is made to residents on “if the child knows how to read and write”. Therefore, it is not a more pragmatic evaluation carried out with children, which considers the skills necessary for full literacy. The National Pact for Literacy at the Correct Age, which will be described in further detail in this report, intends to fill this gap. 4 It is considered that children should be fully literate by the age of 8, which includes reading and writing skills, understanding texts of wide circulation and Mathematics.

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The above graph indicates that the average Brazilian illiteracy rate at age 8 was 15.2% in 2010. In the northeast region, 25% of children aged 8 did not know how to read or write in 2010, while 27.3% of children in this age range in the north region were in the same situation. When analysing specific date for the Brazilian States, we find illiteracy rates of 35.0% in Alagoas, 34.0% in Maranhão and 32.2% in Pará, also in compliance with the 2010 Census. The following table shows illiteracy data by State between 2000 and 2010:

Evolution of the Illiteracy Rate at Age 8 (according to the IGBE)

Federal Unit

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Demographic Census

2000-2010 Variation

Brazil, North, Northeast, Southeast, South, Centre-West, Federal District

Or, in other words, while regions and States show considerable advances in the last 10 years in Brazil (with the exception of the south and some of the States and with significantly high rates still being found), the rhythm for reducing illiteracy is not in accordance with the goals established in the National Education Plan Bill. The evolution of the Brazilian average between 2000 and 2010 indicates a 28.2% reduction, which corresponds to 3.3% per year. It would take 30 years for the Brazilian average to reach the rates in the south at this rhythm, and a further 70 to eradicate illiteracy by the age of 8.

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2.1.2 General overview of the Pact

The National Pact for Literacy at the Correct Age’s immediate objective is teaching basic Portuguese language and Mathematics to all children from Brazilian municipal and State, rural and urban schools by the end of the 3rd year of basic education. By reaching this objective, it is also expected that this will contribute to reducing the age/grade distortion and results of the Brazil Exam and Basic Education Development Index (IDEB) in the short and medium term.

The Pact covers two dimensions, in order to attain these objectives:

I) A public and formal commitment proposed by the Federal Government and taken on by them, the States and municipalities by: a) Ensuring that all children are literate by the age of 8, at the end of the 3rd year of basic

education; b) Taking part in annual external evaluations to be applied by the Ministry of Education

(MEC) for all students who are completing the 3rd year of basic education; II) Pact Actions, which are an integrated set of actions, materials and curricular and

educational references, which will be made available to the States and municipalities by the Ministry of Education (MEC), with a view to teaching basic reading and writing skills; this has the continued training of literacy teachers as its structuring basis and is characterized by directing the evaluation results.

2.1.3 Pact objectives and actions

The Pact and National Pact for Literacy at the Correct Age Action objectives are as follows:

I – guarantee that all students in the public education systems are literate in Portuguese and Mathematics by the end of the 3rd year of basic education; II – reduce the age/grade distortion in basic education; III – improve the Basic Education Development Index (IDEB), which is the indicator comprising proficiency and flows that measures the quality of education at the end of the 5th and 9th year of basic education and at the end of the 3rd year of secondary education; IV – contribute to improving training for literacy teachers; V – create proposals to define the rights and objectives of learning and child development in the first three years of basic education.

2.1.4 Beneficiaries The main programme beneficiaries are Brazilian children and those in the first three years of basic education in particular, which potentially comes to a total of 8.7 million children. In addition to these, actions to train and improve teachers’ skills are intended to cover the 5,565

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municipalities and 27 States, reaching 381,000 literacy teachers, who are dispersed throughout 108,000 public schools.

2.1.5 Activities proposed with products, results and indicators

In summary, the programme will consider a set of actions, which are characterized by the:

• Educational/pedagogical distribution of material resources for MEC programmes, such as the National Educational Book Programme (PNLD), National Libraries in Schools Programme (PNBE) and educational games, among others, which are related to teaching basic reading and writing skills;

• Increased per capita number of materials and pedagogical resources delivered to the teaching networks, such as the supply of literature kits from the National Libraries in Schools Programme (PNBE) to every group of students in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd years and to multi-stage and multi-grade classes;

• Organization of a specific training and refresher course for literacy teachers, which structures and communicates the use and application of these materials;

• Implementation of a training and refresher course for teachers from the State and municipal networks, focusing on the use and application of educational materials and support in class planning and classroom practice;

• Encourage teachers’ participation and dedication to training activities by awarding additional payments;

• Mobilize the school community with regards to the programme; • Carry out diagnostic evaluations, which are applied by the networks at the beginning and

end of the 2nd year of basic education, guaranteeing computerization of the collected data and visualization of the results by local management;

• Hold annual external evaluations of literacy levels for students who are completing the 3rd year of basic education, carried out by institutes which are outside of the educational networks;

• Complementary pedagogical support for children with learning difficulties in the opposite school shift;

• Incentives for schools which make the most progress with literacy objectives; • Strategic and participative management and permanent monitoring of programme

implementation, in collaboration with the municipalities and States in particular.

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Using a schematic example, the Pact Actions are structured on four bases, in accordance with the diagram below:

Educational Material and Literature

Evaluation

Continued Training for Literacy Teachers

Management, Control and Social Mobilization

The action of training all literacy teachers from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd years of multi-stage and multi-grade classes, in courses which will be held monthly during a two year period, should be highlighted. The use and application of material and educational resources will be presented, communicated, evaluated and planned, as well as the bases for evaluating literacy levels, on this occasion. This is the programme’s basic component.

2.1.6 Managing implementation and the governance structure

The actions from the management guideline are also fundamental to the programme’s success. The multidimensional nature of Pact Actions, associated to the presence of multiple actors, including the Ministry of Education, State and municipal departments of education, universities, teacher trainers, directors, pedagogical coordinators and teachers, creates a complex network, requiring significant efforts in the sense of developing and implementing an effective governance model.

Therefore, MEC is developing a methodology for managing a programme strategy and monitoring this extensive network for its implementation, whose institutional arrangement, in terms of organizational units, proposes the following elements and respective macro attributes:

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a) National Management Committee: responsible for coordination and evaluation within the Pact and Pact Actions’ national scope, which is presided over by the Ministry of Education Executive Secretary and comprising representatives from departments and authorities from the Ministry of Education, National Council for State Education Secretaries (CONSED) and the Union of Municipal Directors of Education (UNDIME);

b) Institutional coordination: a committee in each State, comprising representatives from the MEC, State Department of Education, National Union of Municipal Directors of Education (UNDIME) in the States, the Union of Municipal Councils of Education (UNCME) in the States, State Council of Education, Higher Education Institutions (IES) for training, in operation in the States and from other authorities which the coordination team judges to be appropriate, responsible for mobilizing and proposing solutions to strategic issues within State scope;

c) State Coordination: the duty of each State Secretary of Education, responsible for managing, supervising and monitoring within the scope of State network and for supporting implementation of Pact actions in the municipalities;

d) Municipal Coordination: the Municipal Secretary of Education’s duty, responsible for managing, supervising and monitoring Pact actions within the scope of the municipal network and for dialogue with the state coordination team.

The programme’s success certainly depends on effective participation by the States and municipalities. This is not merely due to the fact that enrolments are carried out in these networks but, above all, because an integrated programme such as this effectively depends on us coming close to what we imagine to be a truly collaborative system.

Therefore, the programme proposes a division of responsibilities and commitments between the Ministry of Education and State and municipal departments of education:

- MEC will be responsible for supplying educational and literary materials; for making digital educational technologies for literacy support available; financing teacher training and external evaluations; developing methodologies and management systems and monitoring training and network implementation; contributing to financing the management teams and promoting actions to mobilize the school community;

- The State and municipal departments of education will be responsible for creating and operating programme management authorities; travel and accommodation costs for study advisors (tutors) for training activities; guaranteeing literacy teachers’ participation in training courses, without any alterations to classroom working hours; applying diagnostic evaluations on the 2nd year of basic education in its network and using the results; promoting integration with the More Education Programme to assist children with learning difficulties.

2.1.7 Existing sponsoring institutions

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Federal resources to implement the Pact and Pact Actions will originate from the Ministry of Education’s budget.

2.1.8 Partnerships

This is an initiative which involves Public Higher Education Institutions, the States and municipalities through their departments of education and municipal and school councils, using a totally collaborative format.

2.1.9 Evaluation and monitoring

The most relevant evaluation of the programme will be carried out using an annual and universal external evaluation for all children who are completing the 3rd year of basic education, which will be created and applied by the Ministry of Education. It will evaluate literacy levels in Portuguese and Mathematics. This evaluation will produce indicators of the results which will allow an evaluation of the success of actions which have been undertaken. In addition to this, there will also be an annual application of diagnostic evaluations by the municipal and State networks – the Brazil Test – for children and the start and end of the 2nd year of basic education. The Ministry of Education is developing a unified computerized system within the programme’s scope, which will permit the collection and visualization of results, within the domain of each network. Within the procedural area, Pact actions will be monitored by a specific computerized system, which is currently under development, with an emphasis on monitoring training activities. Indicators related to enrolments, absenteeism, drop-outs and quality perceived by the trainers and study advisors will be available. A substantial amount of data insertion will be connected to the continued payment of gratuities, which will encourage the permanent update of the system.

2.1.10 Risks and risk management

The main set of risks is associated to the immense size of Brazil and the difficulty in reaching some teachers, especially in the north of the country. Our intention is to make at least one study advisor available in each Brazilian municipality but, even so, there are large municipalities with natural barriers that impede access. These risks must be dealt with by the Institutional Management Committee in each State on a case by case basis, providing the most appropriate solution as applicable.

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2.1.11 Estimated budget for 2012-2015

The budget estimated for Pact Actions is in the range of R$ 1 billion per year, with the majority of resources being allocated to paying gratuities to literacy teachers. The second most important segment refers to the acquisition and distribution of educational and literary materials. The third relates to a universal external evaluation which will be carried out annually with students who are completing the 3rd year of basic education.

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2.1.12 Timeline

The 2012/2015 timeline with the main Pact Action activities is as follows:

Action, Responsibility, Deadline

Register for the Pact and Pact Actions States and municipalities

Form an IES training network

Select, indicate and register study advisors

Formalize the Institutional Management Committee

Begin training for study advisors IES trainers November 2012

Indicate/Enrol literacy teachers

who will take part in the training course

Deliver materials to schools

Availability of a system to collect and visualize

the results of the Brazil Test

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Begin training for literacy teachers Study Advisors February 2013

Apply the Brazil Test States, Federal District and municipalities 31/03 and

Apply the 1st external evaluation for those completing the 3rd year of basic education

Pact Actions and their implementation will be re-evaluated in 2015, following these external evaluations, when decisions will be made regarding the continuity of training activities. Evaluations of the 2nd and 3rd years of basic education and the periodic distribution of educational materials will be permanent actions.

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2.2 Literate Brazil Programme (PBA)

2.2.1 Background: the number of illiterate young people, adults and over 60s

In the case of literacy for young people and adults, the indicators show that the illiteracy rate for youths aged 15 or over, adults and those aged over 60 is 9.6% of the population, according to the 2010 Demographic Census. Although there has been a considerable advance in relation to 2000, decreasing by 4 percentage points, there is still a substantial number who are not literate: from a total of 144,823,504 people in this age range, 13,933,173 declared that they are not literate. The table below shows data for each Federal Unit, in increasing order of illiteracy:

Federal Unit Total Illiterate Rate (%) Federal District 1,961,667 68,114 3.47 Santa Catarina 4,886,123 202,452 4.14 Rio de Janeiro 12,604,290 539,383 4.28 São Paulo 32,401,281 1,402,548 4.33 Rio Grande do Sul 8,464,425 383,277 4.53 Paraná 8,053,026 506,096 6.28 Mato Grosso do Sul 1,837,311 141,141 7.68 Goiás 4,562,239 362,829 7.95 Espírito Santo 2,703,310 219,762 8.13 Minas Gerais 15,203,309 1,264,896 8.32 Amapá 447,666 37,696 8.42 Mato Grosso 2,255,487 191,616 8.50 Rondônia 1,138,089 99,451 8.74 Amazonas 2,327,972 229,337 9.85 Roraima 301,598 31,152 10.33 Pará 5,226,650 613,616 11.74 Tocantins 985,473 129,093 13.10 Acre 486,329 80,249 16.50 Bahia 10,426,813 1,729,297 16.59 Pernambuco 6,539,679 1,177,654 18.01 Sergipe 1,511,795 278,221 18.40 Rio Grande do Norte 2,382,025 441,723 18.54 Ceará 6,264,131 1,176,582 18.78 Maranhão 4,540,713 948,163 20.88 Paraíba 2,813,647 616,581 21.91 Piauí 2,288,324 524,706 22.93 Alagoas 2,210,133 537,538 24.32 TOTAL 144,823,505 13,933,173 9.62

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As can be seen, the illiteracy rate continues to present significant differences in Brazilian States and regions. All of the States in the northeast and almost all in the north region (the only exception being Rondônia) have higher illiteracy rates than the 9.6% presented for Brazil. The rate for the northeast was 19.07% and 11.19% for the north, while the centre west displayed a figure of 7.20%, with 5.46% in the southeast and 5.1% in the south.

However, it can be confirmed that when analysing the 2010 Census results from a regional viewpoint, that the northeast was the area that presented the largest decline in illiteracy rates in the country: 7.13 percentage points in the last ten years. The other regions had smaller but still significant decreases: north, 5.15; centre-west, 3.57; southeast, 2.68 and the south, 2.53. These advances are a consequence of the expansion of education and literacy programmes for young people and adults.

It should be highlighted that the illiteracy rate for those aged 15 or over who are residents in rural settings in the 2010 Census was 23.19%. This figure is much higher than that displayed for those in the same age range who lived in urban areas (7.29%) in 2010. However, it was 6.6 percentage points lower than that established for rural homes in 2000 (29.79%). In fact, the drop in rural illiteracy rates was steeper than those registered for urban homes.

In the segment of the population aged between 15 and 29, the drop in the illiteracy rate was 3.47 percentage points, which could indicate both a successful expansion in the number of children and young people who are attending basic schools and greater effectiveness of the Literate Brazil Programme for young people.

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These indicators are summarised in the following table:

Source: Demographic Census – Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

Therefore, as the data demonstrates, among the main challenges in Brazil with regards to combating illiteracy are overcoming regional differences, particularly in the north and northeast, when compared to the other Brazilian areas, and rural, in relation to urban areas. It should be emphasised that despite illiteracy being more serious in the countryside in relative terms, the largest absolute number of illiterate people live in urban areas. 64.4% of illiterate people aged 15 or over lived in urban settings in 2010.

The two situations, both in relation to children and young people, adults and those aged over 60, therefore require public policies and programme to eradicate illiteracy, not only in response to government policies but to constitutional demands and National Education Plan proposals.

2.2.2 General overview of the Literate Brazil Programme

The Ministry of Education created the Literate Brazil Programme (PBA) in 2003, with the aim of contributing to combating illiteracy and promoting the progressive continuity of study for young people and adults at higher levels. This guarantees access to education as every citizen’s right at any time in life, through a shared responsibility between the Union, States, Federal District and the municipalities. The PBA had benefited 13.5 million Brazilians by 2010.

Indicator

2000 2010

Rate (%)

Population in the age

range

Illiterate population in the age

range

Rate (%)

Population in the age

range

Illiterate population in the age

range Illiterate

population in the 15 or over age

range

13.63 119,533,048 16,294,889 9.62 144,823,505 13,933,173

Illiterate population in the

15 or over age range in rural areas

29.79 20,691,618 6,164,207 23.18 21,291,121 4,935,447

Illiterate population in the

15 or over age range in the

northeast region

26.19 31,998,986 8,383,342 19.06 38,977,260 7,430,465

Illiterate population in the

15 to 29 age range 6.45 47,930,995 3,092,749 2.98 51,340,478 1,529,885

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As its main action strategy, the PBA supports and funds literacy projects for young people and adults which are provided by the States, Federal District and municipalities, supplying supplementary resources so that these public institutions increase the provision of literacy groups through training activities and paying gratuities to literacy teachers, sign language interpreters and class coordinators; for the acquisition of school materials; acquisition of food; transportation for literacy students; acquisition of pedagogical, educational or literary materials and reproduction of cognitive tests which are applied to literacy students.

The values which have been transferred up until now, including gratuities, can be seen in the following tables:

Gratuities paid

2007 R$ 9,503,980.00

2008 R$ 101,871,640.00

2009 R$ 216,337,580.00

2010 R$ 373,728,135.00

2011 R$ 289,308,475.00

Total R$ 990,749,810.00

2.2.3 Objectives of the Literate Brazil Programme

The PBA’s aims are as follows:

I – contribute to combating illiteracy in Brazil;

II – contribute to the universalization of literacy and basic education for young people, adults and those aged over 60; and

III – contribute to the progressive continuity of study at higher levels, promoting access to education as everyone’s right, at any time in life, through joint responsibility between the Union, States, Federal District and municipalities.

Direct transfers (R$) PBA – Support Value

2004 R$ 89,558,588.60

2005 R$ 116,897,203.23

2006 R$ 116,659,374.64

2007 R$ 112,259,865.61

2008 R$ 106,347,032.55

2009 R$ 82,505,376.25

2010 R$ 175,296,818.31

2011 R$ 120,484,077.25

Total R$ 920,008,336.44

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2.2.4 Beneficiaries

Illiterate young people aged 15 or over, adults and those aged over 60; volunteer literacy teachers; volunteer Brazilian sign language interpreters who will work with groups of people who are deaf or have hearing difficulties; sign language users and volunteer class coordinators.

2.2.5 Activities proposed with products, results and indicators

• Expand the provision of literacy and education for young people and adults, guaranteeing support to the teaching systems and financial assistance for professionals who work with executing literacy activities;

• Increase and strengthen actions for in loco accompaniment and monitoring;

• Increase and strengthen communication actions;

• Disseminate best practices for literacy and EJA;

• Expand and regularly maintain training actions for local PBA management;

• Expand and regularly maintain inter-sectorial joint actions;

• Restructure pedagogical-policy reference points and strengthen PBA training processes, with a view to improving teaching practice which has already been developed.

The indicators monitored are those related to illiteracy rates by age range and region and development of Youth and Adult Education (EJA) enrolments.

2.2.6 Managing implementation and the governance structure

A new PBA cycle begins every year, following publication of a resolution which establishes standards for that specific cycle. When the resolution is published, the period for registering for the PBA is open to those interested in implementing a literacy programme. The programme resolution normatizes the following:

I – the direct transfer of supplementary financial resources allocated to the States, Federal District, municipalities and public higher education institutions by the Literate Brazil Programme (PBA), with the aim of supporting literacy actions for young people, adults and the over 60s;

II – the payment of gratuities to volunteer literacy teachers, sign language interpreters and class coordinators who participate in the learning process.

Based on the contents of the programme resolution, management of literacy actions is shared by the Federal Government and executing institutions in the States and municipalities.

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2.2.7 Existing sponsoring institutions

Federal resources to implement the Literate Brazil Programme originate from the Ministry of Education’s budget.

2.2.8 Partnerships

2.2.8.1 Interministerial

In alignment with the Brazil Without Abject Poverty Programme’s directives, it was sought to strengthen the integration of literacy policies for young people and adults with other Federal Government actions during 2011. The aim was to increase Literate Brazil Programme beneficiaries’ access to existing public services, with a view to improving their living conditions, income and citizenship.

Along these lines, the PBA’s partnership with the Ministry of Social Development and to Combat Hunger, especially with regards to the Bolsa Família5 Programme, was renewed in 2011. Generally speaking, the action strategies are as follows: 1) carry out an Active Search to place PBA beneficiaries on the Unified Social Programme Register (CadÚnico6

For 2012, in an action coordinated by the General Secretary for the Presidency of the Republic on the Environmental Value Agenda, it was agreed that literacy actions, raising educational levels, professional qualifications and training in Human Rights and Environmental Education will be integrated to assist collectors of recyclable materials. Assistance for 36,400 collectors is planned in literacy groups within this action by 2014.

), in order to make viable their access to Federal Government social policies to which they have a right and 2) mobilize illiterate people registered on the CadÚnico for access to PBA literacy groups.

The Ministry of Education, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, has operated the Vision Brazil Project since 2007, with the aim of identifying and correcting eyesight problems, in order to reduce school absenteeism levels, facilitate access to ophthalmic consultations and to acquire glasses for those assisted by the PBA.

At a dialogue meeting instituted by the General Secretary for the Presidency of the Republic in 2008, the Ministry of Education, together with other ministries, signed a National Commitment to Improve Working Conditions at Sugar Cane Plantations, with a view to promoting literacy and the increased education of manual workers involved in sugar cane cultivation.

5 The Bolsa Família Programme (PBF) is a direct income transfer programme which benefits Brazilian families who are living in poverty and extreme poverty. (Source: http://www.mds.gov.br/bolsafamilia/). 6 The Unified Social Programme Register (CadÚnico) is an instrument for the socio-economic identification and characterization of Brazilian low-income families, for mandatory use when selecting beneficiaries to take part in Federal Government social programmes which focus on assisting this sector of society. (BRAZIL, Decree No 6.135/2007).

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The Literate Brazil Programme also forms parts of the National Educational Book Programme to Educate Young People and Adults (PNLD EJA), coordinated by the National Fund for Developing Education (FNDE) whose role is to evaluate, acquire and distribute quality educational books to literacy groups to the States and municipalities which establish a partnership with the Ministry of Education, when implementing actions for the Literate Brazil Programme.

The Ministry of Education also strengthened the partnership established with the Ministry of Justice in 2012, with a view to increase and qualify the education provided to those serving prison sentences, with the universalization of literacy in prison units through the PBA as a special focus.

2.2.8.2 Government and civil society

An important activity for the PBA, as part of the Education Policy for Young People and Adults, takes place through the Territorial Agenda for the Integrated Development of Literacy and Education for Young People and Adults (EJA). Its objective is to promote interaction between the Literate Brazil Programme and continuity of training courses provided by the EJA. The agenda comprises joint actions by the public authorities and civil society, having planning, accompaniment and social participation as wider mechanisms.

2.2.8.3 International partnerships

South-South Cooperation Network

The South-South Cooperation Network was created during the 1st South-South EJA Cooperation Workshop which was held in Brasília in 2006. This workshop received support from the Brazilian government through the Ministry of Education (MEC), Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and UNESCO representatives in Brazil. The network’s objective is to construct the practice of international cooperation between countries which belong to the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries – CPLP (Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Guineau-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe and East Timor) for issues which are present on government agendas around the world and literacy and education for young people and adults in particular.

Technical Cooperation Agreement between the Government of Brazil and Government of Mozambique

Brazil has supported actions to structure the National Mozambique Adult Education Programme through this cooperation agreement which is now in its fourth phase, by holding teacher training workshops and preparing educational materials.

Cooperation Project with Guatemala

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The actions foreseen in the project presuppose a partnership with a higher education institution in order to hold the training courses and prepare educational materials for literacy and education actions for young people adults.

The Ibero-American Plan to Educate Young People and Adults (Pia)

It was decided to put the Ibero-American Literacy and Basic Education Plan into action at the XVI Ibero-American summit meeting held in Montevideo in 2006, and 2007 was declared “Ibero-American Literacy Year”. The following countries took part: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and Spain. The Plan’s general objective is to universalize literacy in the region in the shortest possible time and for every case before 2015, as it is estimated that there are more than 34 million totally illiterate adults in Ibero-America.

The Ibero-American Education Network for Young People and Adults (Rieja)

Rieja is an intergovernmental technical cooperation network which comprises the Ministries of Education or National Departments of Education and Literacy in Ibero-American countries. The network’s main objectives are to support the design and formulation of educational policies for young people and adults within the perspective of learning throughout life and to facilitate the exchange of information, publications, resources, curriculum proposals, methodologies, monitoring and evaluation systems and experiences between all of the participating countries.

The Paulo Freire Chair in Education for Young People and Adults

The Paulo Freire Chair in education for young people and adults will be promoted by the Federal University of Latin American Integration (UNILA), Ministry of Education and Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), as part of a wider education project for young people and adults. The chair will comprise graduation and post-graduation students, professors from educational institutions, educators who work in the EJA area, managers and specialists on the subject. The themes related to EJA, such as training teacher trainers, research on concepts and practices, educational methodologies, management and resources, etc will be the subject of various collective studies, which will open up possibilities for creating relationships which make the socialization of knowledge viable.

2.2.8.4 Non-governmental organizations

It should be emphasised that MEC’s direct partners, through the PBA, are the States and municipalities, seeing that the objective is to strengthen the provision of literacy and education groups for young people and adults, in observance of the constitutional and statutory obligation for federal institutions to provide this type of education. However, it should be highlighted that as executing bodies for the programme, the States and municipalities mentioned may form partnerships with non-governmental, non-profit making institutions in order to reinforce the PBA’s execution in their respective working areas, with

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joint actions to train literacy teachers and coordinators and prepare educational and pedagogical materials, among others.

The number of local governmental and non-governmental initiatives is also expressive when providing educational opportunities specifically for young people and adults, ranging from the opening of literacy groups to developing projects of national coverage.

The initiatives cover literacy and raising education levels, teacher training, digital inclusion, increased cultural values and enrichment and professional courses, which are developed by institutions such as Sistema S (System S); Fundação Bradesco (Bradesco Foundation); Fundação Banco do Brasil (BB Educate – Bank of Brazil Foundation); Fundação Roberto Marinho (Roberto Marinho Foundation); Fundação Vale (Vale Foundation); Alfabetização Solidária (Solidarity in Literacy); Movimento de Alfabetização de Jovens e Adultos (Literacy Movement for Young People and Adults - Mova) and Movimento de Educação de Base (Basic Education Movement - MEB), among others.

2.2.9 Evaluation and monitoring Monitoring and evaluation is carried out using various instruments. The Literate Brazil System’s (SBA) objective is to give preference to shared management of the PBA between federal institutions; consolidating information with respect to the process of operating the programme following registration of data for literacy students, literacy teachers, coordinators and partner institutions, which makes the process of managing, monitoring and evaluating literacy actions viable.

In turn, the Literate Brazil Programme Map which is available on the Department of Continued Education, Literacy, Diversity and Inclusion’s (SECADI) website, is an instrument for disclosing information on the programme, allowing for its accompaniment by citizens, control bodies, researchers and other social actors regarding its operation.

In addition, MEC teams carry out in loco monitoring visits related to the PBA’s operation, with the aim of verifying local execution of the programme, identifying any operational difficulties with the institutions and providing explanations and guidance in order to adapt practice to the programme’s design.

The executing institutions for literacy actions should hold a learning evaluation by applying cognitive tests at the beginning and end of the group’s operational period for every PBA operational cycle. These are guided by a Reference Head Office for Mathematics, reading and writing, so that the process which has been developed can be evaluated and alternatives for continuing study for those who are leaving the programme can be provided.

The programme results are also evaluated using literacy indicators for the young people and adults which are published by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics through National Research by Home Sampling (PNAD), which is carried out annually and the Demographic Census which takes place every ten years. In addition, and as a supplementary

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measure, we also accompany the evaluation results on functional illiteracy which are applied by the Instituto Paulo Montenegro.

2.2.10 Risks and risk management

As an effort to combat illiteracy with the regional diversity and variations within the population in a country with Brazil’s territorial scale, the PBA includes a wide range of methodologies and practices. This design allows partners to build a policy of national coverage, strengthening existing actions and adapting the educational process to ethnic, regional, cultural and gender differences among the social segments assisted.

However, from contact with PBA executing institutions and on technical visits to municipalities which are made by consultants, poor usage of management instruments and tools (planning, accompaniment and evaluation) and a lack of specific technical and pedagogical training has been noted. These factors have affected the efficiency of literacy teaching actions.

Therefore, the major challenge presented is the construction of mechanisms to gauge literacy actions and the provision of EJA in the country and accountability of the various federal institutions given the PBA’s national coverage, comprising approximately 3,500 Brazilian municipalities.

2.2.11 Estimated budget for 2012-2015

The estimated budget for literacy actions within the scope of the PBA is approximately R$ 600 million per year, allocated for paying gratuities to literacy teachers, class coordinators and sign language interpreters and forwarding sums to support the implementation of literacy actions by institutions which operate this programme.

2.2.12 Timeline

The PBA is a continual flow programme, or in other words, it is developed using annual cycles which do not correspond directly to the calendar year. Therefore, there are always activities which refer to the two operating cycles every year, based on the stages which are summarised in the following activities:

I. Mobilization - involves actions regarding: a communication plan; awareness-raising among managers; technical support to the States and municipalities and institutional interaction.

II. Access – involves actions such as: starting groups, initial training for literacy teachers and payment of gratuities.

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III. Permanence – considers actions related to: continued training, educational materials, support for transportation, food and glasses and work and income, culture and health policies, etc.

IV. Success – with regards to actions related to: cognitive evaluation, access to reading materials and personal documentation and EJA continuity.

These activities are permanently developed and perfected.

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3 Attachment I – Form

Country Brazil Name, position and contact details for the person responsible

Antonio Cesar Russi Callegari, Secretary for Basic Education, Ministry of Education – Telephone: 55-61-2022-8320 / e-mail: cesar.callegari@mec.gov.br

Plans National Pact for Literacy at the Correct Age Literate Brazil Programme Unit responsible Ministry of Education/ Department for Basic Education

(SEB) Ministry of Education/Department for Continued Education, Literacy, Diversity and Inclusion (SECADI)

Is there a national literacy policy?

Yes, as detailed in the Context item of this Action Plan. Yes, as detailed in the Context item of this Action Plan.

Is the proposed action plan based on an existing plan?

Yes, the plan is a result of directives proposed in the Education Development Plan and Bill No 8035/2010, which covers the National Education Plan.

The Literate Brazil Programme was started in 2003 and the National Education Plan directives currently guide its actions.

Which stakeholders are involved and will be involved in developing and implementing the plans?

Municipal and State education departments, public universities, municipal and State education councils, school councils, Council for State Education Departments (CONSED) and the Union of Municipal Directors of Education (UNDIME).

Municipal and State education departments, public universities and the National Commission for Literacy and Education of Young People and Adults (CNAEJA).

Is there a system to collect, process and analyse literacy data?

Partly. One of the Pact’s actions is the institutionalization of a universal external evaluation to be applied to all students who are completing the 3rd year of basic education, through which we can effectively verify literacy levels for each one. The regular indicators which are currently available, obtained annually from National Research by Home Sampling (PNAD) and every ten years through a Demographic Census, are limited in terms of

In addition to issues related to PNAD and Census indicators, there is unofficial bi-annual research in Brazil on Functional Illiteracy Levels (INAF), which is carried out by the Instituto Paulo Montenegro. The Literate Brazil Programme also has its own system, the Literate Brazil System, to collect data related to implementing literacy actions carried out within the programme’s scope on a national level.

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conceptual validity, as they result from a declaration made by a resident on an eight year old child’s capacity for reading and writing or for young people and adults who are over 15.

How are literacy levels measured in your country?

Considering the limitations of the above-mentioned indicators, the rate for illiterate children aged 8 is equivalent to 15.2% of the population at this age in 2010.

Considering the limitations of the above-mentioned indicators, the rate for illiterate young people and adults aged over 15 was equivalent to 9.6% of the population in this age range in 2010.

Is there a literacy policy adhering to informal standards?

The National Pact for Literacy at the Correct Age comprises actions which are aimed at managers, teachers and students who are formally connected to the education system.

The Literate Brazil Programme allows for the organisation of different educational arrangements to provide literacy groups for young people and adults, aiming to promote and value the different forms of formal and informal education. It should be emphasised that within the viewpoint of continued education, the objective is to incorporate literacy students leaving the programme into regular Education Groups for Young People and Adults which are formally connected to the education systems.

Is there a database of educational materials?

There is a national programme called the National Educational Book Programme (PNLD) which sends materials to the majority of Brazilian municipalities and manages them using a computerized system.

The National Education Development Fund maintains a national updated database regarding the distribution of educational materials through the National Educational Book Programme to Educate Young People and Adults (PNLD-EJA) which is called the Educational Material Control System (SIMAD).

What measures are planned to finalize and implement these plans?

The plan is already being implemented. We are currently registering the municipalities and States. Training will start in November 2012.

The plan is being implemented via actions from the Literate Brazil Programme, which are flowing continuously. A new registration cycle for municipalities, States and public higher education institutions is currently starting.