Opinion – Ronaldo Lemos: Why is it so difficult to connect schools?

If there is a public policy that should be a consensus in Brazil, but it is not, it is the question of connecting all public schools in the country with high-speed internet.

Schools should always have the best connection possible. But in reality this connection remains precarious, with low speed and, in most cases, access reaching only teachers and administrators, but not students.

The 5G auction was an example of how this issue is handled in a sloppy way among us. An attempt was made at all costs to exclude the requirement to connect schools from the auction. For example, the obligation to connect 31,000 kilometers of roads easily entered the auction. Whoever can justify why connecting the country’s roads is more of a priority than connecting schools wins a treat.

In the end, the obligation to bring connections to schools ended up entering due to an intervention by the Federal Court of Auditors and pressure from the parliamentary education front in Congress. However, this obligation was linked to the sale of the least coveted bands in the auction, which are the 26 GHz frequencies. These frequencies, to be used at scale, still need a lot of infrastructure, research and development.

So much so that the most pessimistic see that the auction of these tracks simply failed. Several lots did not even have bids. The expected collection amount was R$7.6 billion, and not even half was reached. In other words, those who expected 5G to be the “silver bullet” to connect Brazilian schools will continue to see the werewolf alive. The roads…

The fact is, to solve this problem once and for all, a set of measures must be adopted. For example, an effort to organize spending on connectivity between the Union, states and municipalities. Today, the country, without planning, spends a lot and spends badly. There is often an overlap of investments by the three federative entities in the same area and a total lack of resources in others. Clearly dividing the competencies and attributions of each entity would generate enormous efficiency and immediate impact. Those who plan spend less and do much more.

Another point is dealing with historical bottlenecks that hamper connectivity in the country. For example, the issue of ICMS, which is currently on the agenda at the Supreme Court. There are several states in Brazil that charge ICMS of 29% or more on the value of the internet connection, more than the ICMS applied on cigarettes, alcoholic beverages or weapons.

The STF will soon decide whether the collection ceiling defined by Confaz, which is 17%, should be respected. If the decision is taken in this direction, there will be a reduction of up to 40% of ICMS on internet connection in several states, which is positive.

Finally, the effort to connect schools must always be multi-sectoral. To succeed, it needs to involve not only the public sector but also the private sector, the scientific community and civil society.

In most cases in which Brazil acted on technology issues from a multi-sector strategy, this action worked. Remember: it is impossible to build the education of the future if the premise of this —connectivity— does not exist.

READER

It’s over – Thinking that 5G would solve the problem of schools

Already – Public schools in the country still poorly connected

It’s coming – ​ An entire generation of students with no minimum expected access