Recife - The Ministry of Education intends to change the current national policy for funding early education in order to expand school services for children from 0 to 6 years old.

According to the Ministry's General Coordinator of Early Education, Karina Rizek Lopes, 12,295,775 children in the 0-3 age bracket and 9,775,191 in the 4-6 category receive the benefits of basic public schooling.

This information was presented at the opening of the seminar, National Early Education Policy, which will continue through Friday (13) at the Pernambuco Convention Center, in Olinda. and is being attended by over 100 municipal secretaries of education from Northeastern Brazil.

Rizek pointed out that the growth of early education in recent years has been modest, due to the emphasis placed on financing fundamental education. The Coordinator explained that, with the proposal to transform the National Fund for the Development of Fundamental Education into the National Fund for the Development of Basic Education, the Ministry hopes to provide financial subsidies to the municipalities, so that these services can be expanded with quality. She observed that last year the Ministry of Education gave priority to the policy of professional training for early education teachers.

Similar seminars are being held in various Brazilian capitals. A document will subsequently be prepared to orient the new pedagogical policy for early education around the country, taking into consideration the peculiarities of each region.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Márcia Wonghon
Translator: David Silberstein
08/12/2004