Published Monday, March 08, 2004
From Carnival to Cambridge
Brazil’s Former Education Chief Shares Vision
By Joanna Durham
APPIAN STAFF WRITER

"Wake up, Brazil, it's time for school" was one of several campaigns initiated by Paulo Renato Souza, Brazil’s former Minister of Education.

This wasn’t just a cheery slogan, but a plea for change. According to a United Nations report, hundreds of thousands of Brazilian children weren't in school when Souza took office in 1994.

Between 1994 and 2002, Souza oversaw an increase in primary school attendance from 87 to 97 percent. Gains were especially significant in the poorest municipalities in the country. Illiteracy dropped from 20 to 12 percent during his time in office.

Now a guest lecturer at Harvard’s Rockefeller Center of Latin American Studies, Souza conducted four seminars last month for students from the Kennedy School and Graduate School of Education eager to learn how he helped turn his country’s problems around.

Souza was initially invited by the Kennedy School to spend a semester teaching at Harvard during a visit to the university in 2002. He liked the idea, but decided it was impossible to spend an entire semester away from Brazil. He decided Carnival was the best time to get away and headed to Cambridge.

Souza entered office in 1994 with a background in economics. "The big issue to education is management and limited resources," he said, identifying his economics background as an asset to dealing with these issues.

To jumpstart improvement in Brazil, Souza promoted three national campaigns focusing on specific objectives. The first campaign focused on getting every child into school. When questioned concerning his greatest achievement he responds simply, "Universalizing basic education, no doubt." Souza linked each municipality's funding to the number of children enrolled and attending school. In a report to the United Nations he wrote, "When we created incentives, the mayors started going after the kids to get them in school."

The second campaign attempted to increase the participation of families and led to "National Family in School Day," which brought 60 percent of students' families into the school for the day. Finally, his third campaign, "Bolsa Escola," provided stipends for the regular school attendance of Brazil's poorest children.

Souza has high expectations for the education of Brazil's young people, believing the work of schools is critical to the future success of his nation. "You have to be educated to be a good citizen," he said.

He explained schools should allow students "to develop an ability to learn and understand, to criticize, to reason, and of course to develop some skills and competencies," in addition to encouraging the development of morals and ethics.

Though Brazil's education system has made considerable strides, Souza recognizes continued roadblocks. He would like to see universal preschool and high school in Brazil, as well as an increase in the quality of basic education.

So is there a role for Harvard students to impact the Brazilian educational situation?

Souza thinks there is. "We look too much inwards instead of looking abroad," he noted. He would like to see more partnerships—and more Brazilian students studying at Harvard. 

"Harvard is the best university in the world," said Souza, adding that Harvard's role is "to build knowledge and to spread it."

The challenge is making research and education more focused and efficient. "We need to get the best results from the least money," he said.

Joanna Durham, an Ed.M. candidate in International Education Policy, is a member of the Appian Board of Editors.