More than 200,000 scholarship holders from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes) still have not received payment this month. According to the foundation linked to the Ministry of Education (MEC), payments to master’s, doctoral, post-doctoral students and members of programs aimed at training basic education teachers should have been made until today (7), but had to be postponed due to budget restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Economy. Yesterday (6), Capes released a note in which it states that it demanded from the competent authorities “the immediate clearance of essential financial resources for the regular performance of their functions”. Without the resources, the foundation says that the entity itself and its scholarship holders “already begin to suffer severe suffocation”. Capes is responsible for expanding and consolidating postgraduate studies in the country, which ranges from investments in the training of masters and doctors, the dissemination of scientific production and postgraduate evaluation. It is also responsible for training basic education teachers. Among the scholarships paid by Capes are those of R$ 1.5 thousand for a master’s degree, R$ 2.2 thousand for a doctorate and R$ 4.1 thousand for a post-doctorate. In the note, after two budget contingencies made by the Ministry of Economy, Capes says that it has taken internal prioritization measures to ensure full payment of all scholarships and aid, so that none of the consequences of these restrictions would be borne by students and researchers linked to the Foundation. Capes was, however, surprised by the changes published on November 30th. The issue of Decree No. 11,269, dated November 30, 2022, completely eliminated the authorization for financial disbursements during the month of December, imposing the same restriction on virtually all Ministries and federal entities. The foundation informed that the measures requested from the authorities are necessary not only to ensure the regularity of the institutional functioning of Capes itself but, “to grant dignified treatment to science and its researchers”. “Capes will continue its efforts to restore the payments due to its scholarship holders as soon as the obstacles mentioned above are removed”, he adds in a note. The blockades also once again affected higher education as a whole. On Monday (5), the National Association of Directors of Federal Institutions of Higher Education (Andifes) published a note in which it points out that the cuts leave federal universities without resources and without the possibility of honoring university expenses, including scholarships, says electricity and water, garbage collection, and payments to outsourced employees. According to the deans, the federal government again blocked R$ 344 million in resources from federal universities, six hours after the MEC released the use of the funds. Ministry of Economy In a note, the Ministry of Economy says that budget and financial execution “has been challenging this year-end”. constitutional”, highlights the portfolio in the text. According to the folder, the decree SETO/ME nº 10.395, published yesterday (6), allocated, within the ministries, a total of just over R$ 3.3 billion. “The amount reallocated within each ministry or agency is detailed in Annex II of the ordinance. It is up to each one of them to allocate these resources internally, according to their priorities. The global amount of each ministry was preserved”, he says. The Ministry of Economy says it has been working together with other ministries to resolve issues related to discretionary spending. “The Ministry of Economy reiterates that, in view of the challenging budget and financial execution already reported at the end of the year, it continues to closely monitor the demands of the various bodies of the Executive Branch and works to meet these requests, always respecting the current tax rules”.
Agência Brasil
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