Juliana Andrade
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília – Today president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will sign into law a bill raising the number of years children must go to school to nine years [the practical effect of this is that a high school graduate who presently goes to school for eleven years in Brazil, will have gone to school for twelve years]. In order to make the new law work, state and local education officials will have five years to implement it so that in 2010 all Brazilian children will begin school at the age of six.

At the moment, 12 states and 1,000 municipalities, where an estimated 8.1 million children study, are already putting children in school at the age of six.

Lula will also sign into law a scholarship program for elementary and high school teachers who work in public schools.

Translation: Allen Bennett