Federal government allocates BRL 2.44 billion to federal universities and institutes

On Wednesday (19), the President of the Republic, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and the Minister of State for Education, Camilo Santana, announced the allocation of R$ 2.44 billion to Brazilian universities and federal institutes.

The amount, destined to strengthen higher education and professional and technological education, will be essential for the budgetary recomposition of the federal institutions, which suffered from cuts and contingencies over the last few years years.

Of the R$2.44 billion made available, 70% (about R$1.7 billion) will be earmarked for direct replenishment at universities and federal institutes. Of this amount, R$ 1.32 billion will be allocated to universities and R$ 388 million will be allocated to federal institutes.

With this, the amount made available to all universities and institutes will revert to the 2019 global amount of discretionary income. The other 30%, which is equivalent to approximately R$ 730 million, will be granted for works and other actions that remained with the open expenses in the previous administration, such as medical and multidisciplinary residency, and permanence scholarships for students.

According to Santana, making the amount available to federal educational institutions will reverse the downward curve of budget of universities and federal institutes in recent years, when they ran out of budget for basic expenses minimal.

He stated: “This is the moment to demonstrate that this government prioritizes and will prioritize public and quality education for the Brazilian people”.

The allocation of resources to federal educational institutions is an important measure for the guaranteeing access to quality education in a country with social and educational inequalities significant.

Universities and federal institutes play a key role in democratizing access to higher and vocational education, especially for the most vulnerable populations.