Minister highlights education priorities in the Bolsonaro government

the priority of Ministry of Education (MEC) will be the basic education, which ranges from kindergarten to high school, according to the Minister of Education, Ricardo Vélez Rodríguez. He pledged to combat ideologization in schools and said he would emphasize fight against illiteracy.

The minister received the post from Rossieli Soares who, in turn, took over the Secretary of Education of the State of São Paulo, in the government of João Doria.

Rodríguez began his speech by saying that President Jair Bolsonaro, whom he called the “brave captain,” listened to the population and their desire for security and the fight against corruption. He also reiterated the fight against “Marxist ideology” in schools, which has been highlighted by Bolsonaro himself.

“We are taking the first steps on a journey whose objectives are to meet the aspirations of the Brazilian nation. We will work hard so that, with the support of the family and society, education can promote the affirmation of our children, young people and adults, either to exercise their rights as citizens, or to work in an increasingly competitive job market,” said Rodriguez.

The minister guaranteed the expansion and improvement of education in kindergartens and preschools, the improvement of youth and adult education, full service to people with disabilities, improvement in school management, the search for completing the series at the right age and innovation with the support of media and technologies.

Secretary

The minister extinguished the Secretariat for Continuing Education, Literacy, Diversity and Inclusion (Secadi) and created the Secretariat for Specialized Modalities of Education and the Secretariat for Literacy. The names of the secretaries were announced today (2) at the handover ceremony.

Secadi was responsible for developing actions and programs aimed at special education, rural education, indigenous and quilombola school education, for ethnic-racial relations, in human rights and education of young people and adults.

According to the Ministry of Education, the department will not fail to serve those who were under the umbrella of Secadi, these groups will even have greater emphasis on the secretariats created by the current management.

Transmission of charge

At the ceremony, the former minister highlighted that he initiated "important changes" and that "many are in the hands of the new management that begins". As one of the measures that will need to be continued, he cited the new high school.

In the previous government, the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) was approved, which defines what should be learned in schools across the country, and the definition of the minimum training for teachers, which was sent to the National Council of Education (CNE).

“We are shoulder to shoulder for the right Brazil. There is only one place that this country needs to evolve and a lot, which is in education, count on me”, said the former minister.

Education has been highlighted by President Jair Bolsonaro himself. On Twitter, the president declared, on the 31st: “One of the goals for us to get Brazil out of the worst positions in the world's education rankings is to combat the Marxist rubbish that has settled in institutions of teaching.

Together with the Minister of Education and other stakeholders, we are going to evolve in forming citizens and no longer political activists”. Today the president published the same message again, now in English. He also said in his inauguration speech that he will have the challenge of facing the “ideologization of our children”. The information is from Agência Brasil.

new minister

The minister is a philosopher and emeritus professor at the Army Command and General Staff School. Ricardo Vélez Rodríguez was born in Bogotá, he is 75 years old, and he graduated in Philosophy and Theology. He came to Brazil to do postgraduate studies in the 1970s, always in the area of ​​Philosophy, obtaining a master's degree and later a doctorate at universities in Rio de Janeiro.

Rodríguez is the author of several books, having dedicated his career to university teaching and research. He became Pro-Rector of Graduate Studies and Research at the University of Medellín, between 1975 and 1978, when he briefly returned to Colombia. Since 1979, he has taken up residence in Brazil and taught at universities in Rio de Janeiro, Londrina and Juiz de Fora, having participated in the creation of postgraduate courses in Political Thought Brazilian. The minister harshly criticizes the left and defends the expansion of military schools.