Fearing ‘NGO influence’, Brazil pushes military education to indigenous tribes

In July, Brazil’s Ministry of Education published an action plan seeking to expand the number of civic-military schools in Brazil. The project envisions opening 108 institutions of this kind and predicts a yearly investment of BRL 40 million. Indeed, Brazil’s military schools have proven to be quite successful. Of the 30 best schools in the country, ten are military. Education in the state of Amazonas—a region almost entirely covered by the Amazon rainforest—is no different, with a military school proving to be the best-performing in the region. However, while military education is thriving, indigenous education is suffering. 

In a meeting on July 3, the National Council of Education (CNE) said the situation in indigenous schools is dire. There are 3,345 indigenous learning facilities throughout the country housing almost 256 thousand students. However, structural and budgetary issues are proving to be major setbacks. 

“The [indigenous] children practically started the school year in May, while other schools in Brazil were about to go on holiday,” said Congresswoman Joênia Wapichana, from ecologist party Rede,...