During a meeting of the Education Working Group in Brasilia, Minister of Education Camilo Santana underscored the importance of sharing experiences with other countries to improve effective public policies for initial and continuous teacher training.
The Education Working Group (WG) is currently meeting in Brasilia. Under Brasil's rotating presidency, discussions focus on the qualification and appreciation of education professionals, a priority for the Brazilian government.
Brasil's Minister of Education (MEC), Camilo Santana, emphasized the importance of dialogue and experience exchange among countries to improve teaching policies, identify common challenges, and share best practices in the educational sector. "The Working Group is a novelty from this edition of the G20. It reflects the country's return to the international arena and President Lula's commitment to education. We understand that the key to efficient public policy is the qualification and appreciation of Brasil's teachers", stated the Minister in his welcome address to the delegations.
This was the WG's first face-to-face meeting, gathering over 170 delegates from 34 G20 country delegations, European Union representatives, and invited countries. In February, the group had its first online meeting. Minister Camilo Santana also underscored the importance of public policies focused on improving the quality of learning, especially in literacy classes, highlighting approval rates and combating school evasion as key elements. Santana spoke about the need for changes in the regulatory framework for teaching degrees, particularly in distance education, which today accounts for 86% of initial teacher training courses in Brasil.
According to the Minister, MEC has a robust platform to promote continuous education for teachers, an essential element to keep them updated on global changes such as digitalization and climate issues. "A good teacher needs to be appreciated not only during their initial training but also throughout their continuous education process", stressed Santana.
The Minister spoke about the importance of ensuring teachers a minimum wage, an achievement approved by the National Congress. He also announced the launch of 80,000 new scholarships from the Institutional Teaching Initiation Scholarship Program (Programa Institucional de Bolsa de Iniciação à Docência - PBID).
Santana concluded his remarks by stating that teacher appreciation is crucial for the formation of every society. "This issue is not exclusive to Brasil. Every country faces challenges in recognizing and appreciating their teachers", he said.
Alexsandro do Nascimento Santos, MEC's director of Basic Integral Education Policies and Guidelines, stressed the importance of discussion teacher training and teaching career plans. He pointed out that facing these challenges is key to enhancing teacher training policies in Brasil, a country globally recognized for its many actions to value education professionals.
The G20 Education WG coordinator and MEC's special advisor for International Issues, Francisco Figueiredo de Souza, underscored the positive repercussions of Brazilian proposals among the participants. "The issues debates here will go beyond great recommendations; we want them to become concrete actions in the G20 countries' agendas", he added.
The event showcased experiences from other countries such as investment in school leadership as a transformative measure and initiatives to promote educators' mental health, an issue of growing relevance. Other presentations focused on the inclusion of indigenous education and the establishment of international partnerships to counter the specific challenges of professional training and appreciation.
The G20 Education WG meeting will continue until Wednesday, 22 May; meaningful advances in the discussions of measures to appreciate and qualify educators are expected.
