In Folha, Viana comments on the subscription of “Toda Matemática”

Reproduction of Marcelo Viana’s column in Folha de S. Paulo

On^the 1st of this month, President Lula signed a decree instituting the National All Mathematics Commitment. The initiative, prepared by the Ministry of Education over months – I learned about it by phone call from Minister Camilo Santana, in February – was publicly announced at the national award ceremony of the Brazilian Public School Mathematics Olympiad (OBMEP), in June. This is, without a doubt, the most focused and consistent effort ever made by the federal government to face head-on one of the most critical weaknesses of our educational system: mathematical training in basic education.

Studies by the Ministry of Education itself show that among students who complete high school in Brazil, only 5% reach the minimum expected proficiency in mathematics. The seriousness of the situation is also evident in our results in international assessments such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).

In 2022, the most recent year in which Pisa focused on mathematics, 73% of Brazilian students were below the level of knowledge considered the minimum necessary for the exercise of citizenship, and less than 1% had high performance in the discipline. In a country that is part of the honor division of the International Mathematical Union and has several researchers and research institutions of high international standard, including a winner of the Fields Medal (Artur Avila, a researcher at IMPA), this reality is difficult to digest.

Any effective solution to this state of affairs requires concerted action by all actors in the Brazilian educational system, and this is what Toda Matemática proposes to build, strengthening the teaching of the discipline by offering financial and technical support from the Union to the state and municipal networks that adhere to the initiative and establishing objective technical standards for the evaluation of learning throughout the country. For the final months of 2025, the budget is R$ 70 million and it is essential that the program continues as a state policy.

Why does it matter?

Because mathematics is wealth and development. A study prepared by the Itaú Foundation in 2024 shows that professions that make intensive use of mathematics currently generate 4.6% of Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), about R$ 450 billion per year. In advanced countries, the impact of mathematics can reach 18% of GDP. In order for us to aim for this level, adding more than one trillion reais to the wealth generated in the country each year, it is essential that we are able to train, more and better, professionals trained to use mathematical tools to solve real-world problems.

To read it in full, visit Folha’s website.