by PublicABCP
Reviewed and translated by Matheus Lucas Hebling
The study The Limits of the PNE (2014–2024) in the Collaboration Regime, conducted by Catarina Ianni Segatto (USP), Karoline de Oliveira (UFABC), and André Luís Nogueira da Silva (IBGE), analyzes the role of Brazil’s 2014–2024 National Education Plan (PNE) in regulating the collaboration regime in Brazilian education.
Published in the journal Estudos em Avaliação Educacional, the article explores how this planning tool sought to address regional inequalities and foster more effective coordination across levels of government in a context marked by federative challenges and structural disparities.
Using a qualitative approach, the authors examined official documents, including previous national education plans, and reviewed how states and municipalities have interacted over time. The study’s main goal was to assess the role of national coordination in structuring the collaboration regime and to identify both advances and limitations in this process, particularly regarding the articulation across government levels.
Findings suggest that, while the 2014–2024 PNE played a relevant role in reducing regional inequalities and setting minimum education standards, little progress was made in institutionalizing the collaboration regime. Relationships between states and municipalities remain shaped by structural disparities and the lack of clear mechanisms to promote effective cooperation.
One key highlight is the pioneering experience of the state of Ceará, which in 2007 implemented a structured collaboration regime between state and municipalities. The Programa de Alfabetização na Idade Certa (PAIC – Literacy at the Right Age Program) included teacher training, distribution of pedagogical materials, and regular external assessments to monitor student learning. A central innovation was linking part of the state VAT (ICMS) revenue to education indicators, creating financial incentives to improve teaching quality. Combined with strengthened regional support structures, these initiatives led to significant gains in literacy rates and reductions in within-state inequalities.
Although successful experiences like Ceará’s serve as models and inspiration for other states, they remain exceptions and are insufficient to drive systemic transformation at the national level.
Among the limitations identified, the most notable is the absence of clear regulation of the collaboration regime, which has been enshrined in the 1988 Constitution but never fully implemented. As a result, policies have been fragmented and relationships predominantly vertical—between the federal government and subnational entities—hindering horizontal coordination among states and municipalities.
Moreover, the lack of specific intergovernmental forums to negotiate education guidelines has perpetuated regional inequalities and policy discontinuity, especially in states with weaker technical and financial capacity.
The study concludes that, while the 2014–2024 PNE stimulated debate on the need for a stronger collaboration regime, its practical advances were limited. Local experiences such as Ceará’s show the potential of collaborative arrangements to promote equity and quality in education. With the expiration of the 2014–2024 PNE, the article stresses the importance of discussing and implementing more effective mechanisms of federative coordination to overcome inequalities and secure the universal right to education in Brazil.
Author profiles
Catarina Ianni Segatto is a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of São Paulo (USP) and a researcher at the Center for Metropolitan Studies (CEM). She holds a degree in Public Administration from UNESP, a master’s and a PhD in Public Administration and Government from FGV EAESP—with a visiting researcher period at the University of Kent—and completed postdoctoral research at CEM and the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (University of Regina).
Karoline de Oliveira is a PhD candidate in Public Policy at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC). She holds a degree in Public Policy Management (UFRN) and a master’s in Urban and Regional Studies (UFRN).
André Luís Nogueira da Silva is a Planning, Management and Infrastructure Analyst at the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). He holds a PhD in Public Administration and Government from FGV EAESP, as well as a BA and Licentiate in History (2007), a BA in Public Policy Management (2013), a specialization in Public Management (2012), and a master’s in Urban and Regional Studies (2015), all from UFRN.
Technical details
- Title: The Limits of the PNE (2014–2024) in the Collaboration Regime
- Authors: Catarina Ianni Segatto, Karoline de Oliveira, and André Luís Nogueira da Silva
- Publication Year: 2024
- Source: Estudos em Avaliação Educacional, Vol. 35
