BRAZIL: STUDY SHOWS PUBLIC EDUCATION IS THE WORST IN THE AMERICAS

English/Nat
A government study ranked Brazil's public education as the worst in the Americas and the third worst in the world, after Bangladesh and Guinea-Bissau.
An Education Ministry study found that only 33 of every 100 students in Brazilian public schools reach eighth grade.
In Brazil, children like these are lucky to get an education.
But the quality of their education is not as good as that of their counterparts in Latin America.
A government study ranked Brazil's public education as the worst in the Americas and the third worst in the world, after Bangladesh and Guinea-Bissau.
The survey points out that teachers are ill-prepared to do their job and they're also poorly paid.
In Rio de Janeiro alone, the Secretary of Education is responsible for more than one thousand schools and 37-thousand teachers- a public school system as large as that of New York City.
Rio de Janeiro's school system is financed by the city government.
Many public schools do not have enough resources to cope with the students and the whole system lacks a basic comprehensive curriculum.
These are the factors, according to the Ministry of Education, that have led Brazil to score low in the survey.
But Rio de Janeiro's Education Secretary argues Brazil's standards prevail throughout the region.
SOUNDBITE: (In English)
"I think that the standards in Latin America are very similar. I don't think that Brazil is the last in the list. I think that Brazil is not in a good position but I would say that this situation is similar to the whole Latin America."
SUPER CAPTION: Regina de Assis, Rio de Janeiro Education Secretary
The average rate of attendance in Brazilian schools is of one-hundred children entering first grade. It is estimated that only 40 per cent will reach fourth grade and only 33 out of one-hundred would graduate from eighth grade.
Some children remain in first grade for one, two or even three years because they are not able to pass. Most of these children come from dysfunctional families or have learning disabilities.
Without the appropriate resources the public school system cannot provide assistance to these kids.
Other factors such as poverty and malnutrition can also lead to the students' poor performance.
SOUNDBITE: (In English)
"What happens is that if the child is malnourished, unhealthy and abandoned, by those who are meaningful for them, their performances will be more difficult. I will not deny that."
SUPER CAPTION: Regina de Assis, Rio de Janeiro Education Secretary
Social and economic factors have widened the gap between the rich and the poor hitting children the most.
Brazil has one of the largest number of street kids.
Children from broken homes- mostly headed by unskilled single mothers- are often forced to give up their education to go to the streets at a very early age to scrap for a living.
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