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Students who are attending public high school and born in September or October will receive this Tuesday (2) R$ 200 related to the Enrollment Incentive of the Pé-de-Meia program. The amount will be deposited into the digital account automatically opened by Caixa Econômica Federal. Minor beneficiaries must be careful. He will need authorization from his legal guardian to operate the account. Consent can be made at a Caixa branch or via the Caixa Tem app. Students aged 18 or over can now use the amount received.
The Ministry of Education (MEC) started paying the incentive on Tuesday, March 26, for students born in January or February. Young people will receive the incentive, depending on their month of birth. Beneficiaries can receive up to R$9,200 from the program over the three years of high school. The projection is that 2.4 million students will be covered by the initiative.
For professor and economist Rodrigo Simões, the program has everything it needs to succeed, but it must be combined with other public policies to serve the population equally.
“The value is initial and must be the same for all regions. I see it will still be reviewed after a few months of implementation. We have to go piecemeal, as the government budget is tight, especially this year where the fiscal deficit has increased a lot — and as a result, the government ends up having little room for maneuver for social programs”, he observes.
Registration Incentive payment schedule
- March 26 for students born in January or February;
- March 27 for students born in March or April;
- March 28 for students born in May or June;
- April 1st for students born in July or August;
- April 2 for students born in September or October;
- April 3 for students born in November or December.
According to the MEC, payment can be made until July 1, 2024, if any registration information is updated by June 14. The department warns that transferring enrollment to another school does not entitle the student to a new payment of the Enrollment Incentive in the same academic year. Students who need to retake a certain grade due to abandonment or failure will only be entitled to one more payment for the same grade during high school.
The Pé-de-Meia program aims to reduce this school dropout rate in the country through a financial incentive. For retired teacher and pedagogical coordinator Elenir Azevedo, it is not enough to look at the problem in a generalized way. She experienced students’ problems up close and believes that public policies and social programs need to look at regions individually.
“School dropout is very worrying and it occurs mainly in poorer areas without assistance programs. I think there should be, according to the reality of each location, programs that help communities guide the importance of keeping children in schools, as they lead to a better future”, he assesses.
“It is necessary to have a political pedagogical program in each school so that greater engagement between school and community is possible and that children have more pleasure in attending classes”, he highlights.
How the incentive is distributed
Pé-de-Meia provides for the payment of R$200 registration fee for each grade, in addition to nine additional annual installments of the same amount. A total of R$2,000 per year that can be withdrawn at any time. Furthermore, at the end of each completed year, students will be entitled to deposits of R$1,000, which can only be withdrawn from savings after the end of the academic year. The student will also receive R$200 for participating in the National High School Exam (ENEM).
To receive the benefit, the student must have the Individual Taxpayer Registry (CPF); be between 14 and 24 years old; and be a member of a family that is part of the Single Registry (CadÚnico).
If you have any questions, the student can access the “Jornada do Estudante” app, which can be downloaded on the Google Play and App Store platforms. With it, students will be able to consult information about participation in the program, status and payment calendars — in addition to service channels.
The MEC informs that new students may be included as municipal, state and district education networks update the information.
Reporting: Lívia Azevedo
Edition: Zildenor Dourado
Zildenor Dourado has a degree in Journalism and Literature/Portuguese from the University of Brasília. He is a specialist in Legislative Communication, from Unilegis, of the Federal Senate. He worked as a reporter and editor for the newspapers Tribuna da Bahia, A Tarde and Jornal de Brasília. in addition to several union press vehicles. He worked as a public servant for the Federal Legislative Chamber, where he was a reporter, editor and head of the Publicity and Press Relations Section.
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