FIVE YEARS OF THE REAL PLAN

In the 1994-1998 period, enrollment increased 12.2% for elementary education, 37.3% for high school, and 25.5% for higher education.

	nº of enrollments
BRAZIL	735,147
North	96,115
Northeast	426,234
Southeast	93,300
South	70,249
Mid-West	49,249

The growth in elementary education enrollment rates was intensified by the "Every Child in School" Program (‘Programa Toda Criança na Escola’). Until 1997, there were 2.7 million children, age 7 to 14, who were out of school. The goal was to enroll between 300 and 400 thousand children in 1998. The Program’s mobilization was so successful that 735 thousand children were enrolled during National Registration Week, in February 1998.

In the 1995-1998 period, the number of children enrolled not only increased, but also the passing rate of students in elementary education grew. In 1995, the rate was 70.6%. In 1997, it rose to 77.5%. In the same period, the failure rate dropped from 15.7% to 11.4%, and the dropout rate decreased from 13.6% to 11.1%.

In high school education, the passing rate of students jumped from 68.2% in 1995 to 78.8% in 1997. In the same period, the failure rate dropped from 10.1% to 7.5%, and the dropout rate decreased from 21.6% to 13.7%.

The increase in enrollment numbers and the improvement of performance rates - supported by a decrease in failure and dropout rates and by the growth in the passing rate – have resulted in an important increase in the number of children who complete elementary education.

The Net Schooling Rate identifies the percentage of the population age 7 to 14 enrolled in elementary education.

The substantial growth of enrollments in elementary education, verified in the 90s, favorably reflects the increase of the Net Schooling Rate.

The attendance rate, which identifies the percentage of children enrolled in schools, regardless of the educational level, reached 96.5%. This percentage is equivalent to that of many developed countries.

There was an increase of more than 10 percent in the average number of children attending school between 1992-93 and 1995-97.

Federal Government’s resources are passed directly to schools, in proportion to the number of enrolled students, by means of the "Direct Money in School" Program (Programa "Dinheiro Direto na Escola") Therefore, the School Boards and the Parent and Teacher Association (PTA) began to have greater autonomy in the use of those resources. The number of such associations increased from 11,643 in 1995, to 54,591 in 1998, as a result of the "Direct Money in School" Program. This demonstrates the growth of communities’ participation in education.

The National Program for School Meals, better known as School Lunch, is of great importance.

Created 40 years ago, the Program gained new dimensions in September 1995, when resources for its purposes were increased by 50%. In addition, it was gradually decentralized, thus permitting better use of its resources and a greater adaptation of the meal to the eating habits of different regions of the country.

Brazil is one of the few countries in the world that distributes meals to more than 35 million students on a daily basis.

The School Lunch program is yet another instrument that contributes to the decrease in drop out rates and to the improvement in students’ performance.

From 1996 to 1998, the resources used for school meals increased 73%. In 1999, the School Lunch is expected to receive R$ 903 million, and it should assist about 36.9 million students in all 5,507 Brazilian municipal districts.

One of the important steps in improving the quality of education was the reformulation of the National Textbook Program. Prior to 1995, books usually did not arrive at schools. Now, books arrive before the beginning of the school year.

In 1998, 84 million school books were distributed. In 1999, 109 million have already been distributed.

In 1999, the Program is launching a wide campaign for the conservation of school books. This will economize the resources allocated for this program, besides motivating children to take care of the books and to share them with others.

From 1997 to 1998, the number of schools served by the School TV Program increased 72.5%.

This Program reflects the Federal Government’s commitment to quality and equity in Brazilian education, and also its support to professionals in education. Its main objectives include the improvement of the quality of teachers in public schools and the enrichment of the teaching-learning process.

Public schools with more than 100 students receive a set of equipment, entitled "technological kit", which allows them to taperecord worthwhile, daily programming related to the elementary education curriculum. School TV programs are complemented by special magazines, notebooks and guidebooks that guide students and teachers in the use of the programs.

In the 1995-1998 period, the Government invested R$ 101.5 million in the School TV Program.