SP government transfers R $ 10 million from education to invest in public safety

The governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), decided to withdraw R $ 10 million from the budget of the Secretariat of Education (Seduc) to pass on to the Public Security Secretariat (SSP). The measure was formalized in a decree dated March 2 and published in the Official Gazette on Thursday (6).

The resources, originally intended for the Integral Education Program, aimed to expand the school day of students in the final years of elementary and high school. The 2025 Budgetary Guidelines Law (LOA) provides for R $ 7.45 billion for the Integral Education Program, which aims to increase the number of students with full journey in the state public network.

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With the transfer, the R $ 10 million will be applied to the “ostensive and preventive police” of the Military Police, according to the Public Security Bureau. Specifically, the amount will be used for the special daily for the extraordinary journey of military police work, intended for the safety of schools in the state of São Paulo. The transfer will be made in eight installments between February and September this year, as stipulated in Ordinance.

The measure generated controversy, mainly due to the change in focus of resources that were initially planned for education. At the same time, the government has promoted the expansion of integral education through the Public-Private Partnership Program (PPP), which provides for the construction of new state schools by private initiative, in the project known as “PPP New Schools”.

This project, however, faced resistance and was even brought to court, with the accusation that private partnerships could impair the quality of education. In October last year, the São Paulo Court of Justice overthrew an injunction that suspended auctions for the construction of new schools, allowing the continuity of the program.

The action was filed by the São Paulo State Official Teachers Union (Apeoesp), which claimed that the notice disregarded the constitutional principle of the democratic management of education, disrespecting the necessary integration between the administration of the physical school and the pedagogical functions, resulting in an undue outsourcing of essential activities to the public education service.