The implementation of pronatec and the implications on the professional education policy: what is prescribed and what is implemented

Abstract

The study refers to the implementation of the National Program for Access to Technical Education and Employment (Pronatec), enacted by Law 12.513/2011, with the objective of expanding and taking professional and technological education policy to the interior of the country, stimulating the articulation of this policy with employment generation policies and amplifying educational policies for workers. Another goal of the program is to improve the quality of high school. In order to achieve these objectives, Pronatec offers Initial and Continuing Education Courses (FIC) and concomitant technical courses. To investigate the fulfillment of the objectives of the program and elucidate the implications of its implementation, an evaluation of the process was developed through the analysis of data from 2011 to 2017. Considering this period, it was observed that Pronatec’s trajectory can be divided into three moments: in the first moment, from the creation of the program, in 2011, to the 2014 presidential election, there is a significant offering of FIC courses and a contribution to the legitimization of the capitalist state; in the second, from the reelection of president Dilma Vana Rousseff to her impeachment (2015-2016), there is a decline in Pronatec’s course openings; in the third moment, from 2017 on, technical courses are emphasized as a foundation for the implementation of the High School Reform. At this moment, it is observed that the state has been greatly contributing to the capitalist accumulation. Therefore, the structural duality of education is consolidated in the current trajectory of the program.