Criteria for reducing interest on Minas debt will be up to the Ministry of Education

Federal deputy Padre João (PT) says that the regulation of the proposal that reduces debts owed by States to the Union in exchange for increased investments in full-time education will be carried out by the Ministry of Education.

“The Minister of Finance (Fernando Haddad) made it very clear, in an internal meeting, that this progress in the proposal, this regulation, will be carried out with Minister Camilo Santana (Education). It is a construction with the MEC that involves new registrations to arrive in 2030 with a first world standard”, he states.

Padre João was interviewed, alongside state deputy Leleco Pimentel (PT), on the program TEMPO NEWS 2nd EDITION, ON FM THE TIME, this Monday (1st). The two parliamentarians spoke about the “Together to Serve” project, which proposes a union of the activities of the two mandates.

Parliamentarians considered the proposed alternative to the Fiscal Recovery Regime presented by the federal government to renegotiate state debts to be positive.

“It’s a win-win for everyone with the opening of new enrollments for training technicians; Society, industry wins, everyone wins with the offer of qualifications”, says Father João. Deputy Leleco, however, says he fears the risk that the resources released with the reduction in interest charged on the debt will be used for ineffective projects.

“It is a danger that we invest resources for truly comprehensive education, which corresponds to the regional vocation, in an incomplete program that is just government propaganda”, says Leleco.

Parliamentarians justify their concerns due to statements by governor Romeu Zema (Novo), highlighting that the state administration has already invested large amounts in vocational education, with emphasis on the “Trilhas do Futuro” project and calls for a “retroactive” consideration of investments already carried out. According to Zema, Minas would have made investments of around R$1.5 billion.

Despite the doubts, parliamentarians say they believe in a negotiation that considers the investments made by Minas Gerais through partnerships with the private sector, a space where Trilhas do Futuro fits.

“In the short term we have to fulfill, I believe that the federal government will give in to accepting investments not only in the public network, but also in private networks and System S, which includes Sesi and Senai”, highlights Padre João.

Proposal

Named “Interest for Education”, the program provides for States to join according to three different interest levels, ranging from 2% to 3%. As the annual rate decreases, the requirement to invest a percentage of debt service in expanding enrollment in technical secondary education increases:

• 3% per year, as long as you apply 50% of the savings from debt service to tuition;
• 2.5% per year, as long as you apply 75% of the savings on debt service to tuition;
• 2% per year, as long as you apply 100% of the savings to debt service.

The proposal was presented by minister Fernando Haddad to the governors of the South and Southeast as an alternative, both to the RRF and to the proposal made by the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD), who in addition to reducing interest rates wants a reduction in the total debt.

The Ministry of Finance proposes to reduce the nominal interest rate applied to States’ debts with the Union to up to 1%. The alternative to joining the Fiscal Recovery Regime (RRF) involves reducing interest, which is currently 4%, increasing enrollment in technical secondary education and repaying up to 20% of the debt stock.

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