Brasília, December 4, 2002 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The minister of Education, Paulo Renato Souza, affirmed today, during the "Literature in My House" teleconference, that basic education in Brazil is the "country's first truly universal public service, to which everybody has access." Souza commemorated not only the inclusion of children in school, but also the improvement of the educational system as a whole, with qualification of teachers, better quality textbooks, and more effective school lunch distribution, among other factors. "In eight years we did what other countries took decades to do," the minister said. (DAS)