Education Funding That Fails to Meet Its Targets

In the article “Public Planning: Relationship between the Municipal Education Plan and the Budgetary Plans for Government Action, based on the PNE 2014–2024,” researchers Midian Borges dos Reis Vieira, Sandra Márcia Campos Pereira, and José Jackson Reis dos Santos bring an uncomfortable question to light: Why do education goals advance so slowly, even when there is a legally approved plan? Their study, conducted in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, delved into the relationship between the Municipal Education Plan (PME 2015–2025) and the municipality's budgetary instruments, revealing contradictions that rarely reach public debate.

The money projected to guarantee educational goals does not always, in fact, appear in the budget. The authors analyzed 22 official documents, such as the Pluriannual Plan (Plano Plurianual - PPA), the Budget Guidelines Law (Lei de Diretrizes Orçamentárias - LDO), and the Annual Budget Law (Lei Orçamentária Anual - LOA), and found weaknesses in the articulation between educational planning and fiscal planning. In some cases, essential programs appear fragmented, making it difficult to monitor what was promised in the PME.

One of the highlighted findings is the behavior of the indicator concerning the expansion of municipal investment in education. Even when the city studied—in this case, Vitória da Conquista—exceeded the minimum constitutional index, this did not translate into real progress in executing local goals. "Meeting the minimum does not equate to meeting the plan," the authors point out.

The study also demonstrates how political alternation directly interferes with the continuity of actions. Changes in administration lead to the reorganization of priorities, the interruption of programs, and a distancing from the national guidelines of the PNE 2014–2024, significantly impacting municipal planning.

Ultimately, the authors reveal that the major challenge is not merely having well-formulated goals, but ensuring that they are incorporated into the budget and effectively transformed into public policy. Their article is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand why so many educational plans remain on paper, and what cost this distance imposes on schools, teachers, and students.

Link to download and read the full article: PLANIFICACIÓN PÚBLICA: RELACIÓN ENTRE EL PLAN EDUCATIVO MUNICIPAL Y LOS PLANES PRESUPUESTALES PARA LA ACCIÓN GUBERNAMENTAL, CON BASE EN EL PNE 2014-2024 | Revista Espirales