President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that education and political participation are fundamental elements for the country to have a better future than the present. Addressing an audience of students from São Bernardo do Campo (SP), Lula stated that it is for this purpose that the government has developed its public policies.
“For the love of God, take these chances with your hands. We will support you”, said the president when announcing another R$ 108 million in support of 500 courses from the National Network of Popular Courses.
Investment in popular courses is foreseen in a notice that, according to the government, is about to be published. This network represents, according to the government, “technical and financial support for the preparation of public school students in situations of social vulnerability, who seek to enter higher education through Enem [Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio]”.
It helps popular and community pre-university courses with specific guidance for the exam, in order to provide more opportunities for access to higher education.
Education
During the event, Lula said that it is through education that individuals can improve their quality of life, as they become more capable and aware professionals. He also said that it is through political participation that he will be able to improve the lives of the collective.
“Your father and mother, no matter how much need they have, their biggest dream is not to leave wealth to you. It is to leave a profession. It is to see their son or daughter graduating to have independence in life”, says the president when talking about his “obsession with education”, in a country that, historically, has never taken education for poor people seriously.
According to Lula, the autonomy provided by education even helps in situations of domestic violence. Especially when practiced against women. He highlighted that professionalization is a tool for autonomy and social advancement, so that people are not subject to problems of this type.
“Profession is a sacred thing. That’s why I invest in education”, he said.
Lula reiterated that there is no country in the world that has developed without first investing in education. “We don’t just want to be an exporter of soybeans, corn or iron ore. We want to export knowledge, intelligence and added value produced by our capacity”, he added.
The president said that this challenge covers several other countries. He recalled that, for this reason, the Brazilian government is developing several partnerships with African countries; Portuguese-speaking countries; and with Latin American countries.
In the case of Latin America, the idea, according to him, is “to form a Latin American doctrine to dream that our continent will one day be independent, so that never again will a president from another country dare to speak rudely”.
Political participation
Afterwards, the president said that the awareness provided by education makes people better able to demand and demand more from the government. And more than that: to participate more directly in the country’s political environment.
“The misfortune of those who don’t like politics is that they are governed by those who like it. And if those who like it are junk, you will be governed by junk. Don’t put the fox in charge of the henhouse, because he will eat the chickens,” said the president.
“And when you see that the political class is trying to pass a law that gives impunity to thief, don’t give up. Get into politics because the good politician is within you. It’s not within them”, he added.
Popular courses
In a note about today’s event, in which Lula announced R$108 million in investments in popular courses, the federal government reported that, in the first notice of the National Network of Popular Courses, the program had already selected 384 courses, benefiting more than 12,100 students in all regions of the country. There were R$74 million in investments.
“Each course included received up to R$ 163.2 thousand to pay teachers, coordinators and technical-administrative staff, in addition to a permanence allowance of R$ 200 per month for up to 40 students per unit”, detailed Planalto.
In general, cram classes take place on Saturdays, at public universities, since a large part of the audience are students who work during the weekdays.
