The value of education. Perceptions and realization.

It has been two weeks into our project with  ITEVA (the Advanced Technological and Vocational Institute) in Aquiraz, Ceará, Brazil. As my IBM Corporate Service Corp partner Berna Tucel from Turkey and I are getting into the field work by interviewing many stakeholders and youths, we are exposed to both the good and bad side of Brazil, education system, challenges of the youths and the efforts from both state and NGOs (non-government organizations).

As we learn about the challenges, we start to appreciate more about the good work that ITEVA is doing in Aquiraz. ITEVA has a great family culture where Fabio Beneduce is like a kind father to the team.  Everyone is treated with respect, love and care.  The camaraderie among the team members is like brothers and sisters.

The philosophy of ITEVA and Projecto Mediacom can be summed up in 6 words - unity, co-operation, discipline, dedication, transparency, conscienciousness. These principals guide the steps of those who enter the Midiacom Academy as students, and in turn teach the new students, and eventually to graduate and work at the ITEVA social enterprise.  These are important values that are missing and much needed in the youths.

ITEVA’s Midiacom celebrates her 10^th anniversary this year, and has many success stories to date. During my stint here, I have seen many other state and social organizations come personally to consult with Fabio on his winning formula. However, it is not without its growing pains.

ITEVA and many other social education organizations are filling a gap in Brazil, as not everyone understands the value of education or technology, nor support it whole heartedly.

Politicians are split in terms of the need for education.  There are those who have a passion that quality education is needed to help the citizens to get out of poverty, motivate them for progress and drive growth for the economy.   

There are also those that view a literate population as less easy to manipulate for votes and they would challenge the status quo of the statesmen and exercise choice that is not influenced entirely by government grants.

At the state level, funds are given to parents for keeping their children in school, so that they are not asked to leave school to work to supplement the family income.  The amount is small and may help a little to keep the students in school, but not as much as a mindset change is needed.   For the lower income, they may decide to have four children, send them to school and collect the grants to retire.

The state also fund the city and municipal to run the public schools.  These funds are subject to potential corruption and funds are low resulting in low salaries for teachers which does not motivate them to seek new skills or create new programs in school.

At the school level, it is entirely dependent on the vision of each school principal on how to shape the school curriculum and how much funding they get.  While there are some 100 new model schools that has sprung up across Ceara, such as the EEEP Alda Facanha in Aquiraz that I blogged about, most schools do not have visionary principals, technologically or vocationally trained teachers, or sufficient funds to invest in improving the school infrastructure.  Many schools are still relying on black boards and teachers do not know how to use computers.

Public schools provide a half day curriculum and it is mandatory to provide food for the children.  Many children stay in school as they need the food.  However, the students do not have any school activities for the other half day.  There are many occasions where the students may end up in bad company as working parents do not have time for them.

At the family level, not all parents understand the value of education.  Families who are in business or are wealthier, are more supportive of their children in furthering their studies and would pay for private school fees through to college and universities.  Most families are accustomed to their fate and expect the children to follow in their foot steps.  For many who do consider education as important, they may not understand the role of technology in the new economy of jobs.

At the student level, many children live in the parents’ homes until they get married, and some stay in the home until they are 50 years old.  As such, there is no urgency to be financially independent.  School students have been known to drop out for reasons such as lack of interest in the subjects, distance to the school is too far.  There is little discipline or dedication for many youths to study or excel in their study.  Many attend school but do not learn.

The work that ITEVA does is admirable in many ways. ITEVA operates Midiacom Academy in the education of  technology which in powerpoint presentations, animation, editorial, and websites.  They also run a social enterprise that provide jobs for the students when the graduate.

In order to keep the academy running, ITEVA has to do an annual submission and justification to secure the approval of relevant funding from the state for social work and ensure the funds is received in a timely manner.  ITEVA also has to reach out the school principals, teachers, parents and students to help them understand the importance of technology as a game changer in the youth’s lives. 

To address the challenges that the community faces, ITEVA first works with the school principals to help them understand the role of technology and the impact it has as a game changer. 

ITEVA then reaches the teachers to provide education so that the teachers can learn simple computer technology and presentations.  This helps to motivate the teachers to learn a new skill, increase their confidence to embrace technology, reduce their fear of change to make lessons more interesting for the students, and reduce student drop out rate.

Collaborating with the school, ITEVA conducts recruitment drives for the students to sign up for the Midiacom Academy.  The students get to learn about technology and when they complete certain modules, they in turn teach the new students.  So, the students get to apply what they learn and it is a cost effective way to run an education organization.  

 Most importantly, ITEVA helps to change the mindset of the community from principals, teachers to students.  The values they learn stay with them through their lives, to motivate them towards a better future.

Find out more about ITEVA at http://www.iteva.org.br

and IBM Corporate Service Corp #ibmcsc and #ibmcsc brazil at https://www.ibm.com/social/aggregator/corporate_service_corps