Agencia Brasil

Brasilia – President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reaffirmed this Thursday (10) that, without quality education, "no country can become developed enough to grow to be a strong nation" in either the economic, cultural or social aspects. Lula said that education investment is one of the priorities of his government.

The President informed that until the end of his mandate, in 2006, 4 more universities and 32 technical schools will be installed in Brazil. In addition, 36 university branches will be built and five colleges will be transformed into universities.

Lula announced, Thursday (10), in the city of Teófilo Otoni, in the state of Minas Gerais, that the government will release US$3.68 million (R$8 million) to make improvements to the local university. The university currently has 1,516 students, and after the expansion, it will be able to attend 660 more students per year. The location, a low HDI-ranking region (Human Development Indicator), has few higher education institutions.

Translation: Andréa Alves