Connected Students Project will bring the internet to 400 thousand students in Brazil
62,869 chips were delivered to 67 universities and federal institutes.
Nov 23, Brasilia: If at the beginning of this year, someone told student Daiane Brabo that she would need to take the third and final semester of the Agricultural Technician course, at the Federal Institute of Pará (IFPA), remotely, watching classes by cell phone, she would not only be surprised, but worried.
The young paraense, 22, daughter of family farmers, have no internet at home and could not have access to the educational content provided. "I am from a very poor family, we are not in a position to install Wi-Fi at home or put credit on the phone every week," he explains.
Also, read- The project installs over a thousand kilometres of the internet cable network in rivers in Amazonas
With the period of confrontation with Covid-19, Daiane started to attend classes online with the internet signal provided by a neighbour, where she lives, in Breves, a municipality in the Marajó Archipelago, about 221 km from the capital Belém.
Now, with the Alunos Conectados Project, from the Ministry of Education (MEC), she has mobile internet available to continue her studies. The initiative will bring internet to 400 thousand students.
Daiane Brabo received one of the 62,869 chips delivered by the National Education and Research Network (RNP) to 67 universities and federal institutes since the project travelled throughout Brazil to provide free internet for students in socio-economic vulnerability enrolled in higher education institutions in the country. federal network.
“We live in a very poor region. At this moment, when we cannot be in person at the institution, this chip came to minimize our difficulties. The chips provided by MEC are wonderful. The internet is very good! ”, Praises the student of the Agricultural Technician course.
Also, read- The project installs over a thousand kilometres of the internet cable network in rivers in Amazonas
Democratization of access
In addition to enabling students to continue academic activities remotely, the project contributes to democratizing access to education, boosting digital inclusion and reducing inequalities in access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), especially in areas further from large centres, where the internet offer is still incipient.
The secretary of Professional and Technological Education, Wandemberg Venceslau, recognizes that the moment is of great challenge for everyone: for students who cannot go to schools and institutions and for their families who are prevented from exercising their professions. “They are people who do not have access to all the technological resources necessary to follow the classes taught in a non-classroom manner. One of the main needs identified by the MEC was access to the internet. For this reason, we count on the partnership of RNP, which has already been very successful in making a high-speed network available to federal institutions. ”
The challenge assumed by MEC and RNP was great: to allow connectivity to reach students, immediately. The action was innovative. In view of the urgency of the demand, even the public policy circle was reversed, as explained by the secretary. "We were unable to dedicate much time to the formulation of public policy, we have already gone straight to the implementation", he details.
Also, read- The project installs over a thousand kilometres of the internet cable network in rivers in Amazonas
“The first impact of the project is to recognize these students. When institutions join this program, students already perceive themselves as part of a larger project and recognized by the State ”, says Venceslau.
According to the secretary, with this visibility to the student served, the MEC provides resources and contributes so that the occurrence of dropout is not high. He also believes that the action has the potential to reach greater breadth and scale in the country, in addition to the effects of the coronavirus crisis.
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