Court Plenary cited tax irregularities and ordered suspension of R$6 billion from the student program
The AGU (General Attorney’s Office of the Union) appealed this Wednesday (January 22, 2025) against the decision of the plenary session of the TCU (Court of Auditors of the Union) that of R$6 billion from the Pé-de-Meia programaimed at low-income students. Here is the resource (268 KB – PDF).
The TCU cited fiscal irregularities and impacts on the credibility of public accounts in the plenary ruling. Here’s the of the ruling (375 KB –PDF).
AGU wants to immediate suspension of the decision. In the appeal, the government says that there is no illegality in the transfer of such resources and that blocking the funds could make the continuity of the social program unfeasible.
“For the government, the precautionary and sudden blocking of more than R$6 billion will cause irreparable disruption to the program and students”he tells AGU.
If the TCU’s decision is not reversed, the AGU requests that its effects only come into force in 2026 and, in this case, a period of 120 days be granted for the federal government to present a plan to comply with the decision without prejudice to the program continuity.
TCU decision
The TCU’s deliberation was unanimous and has a precautionary nature, which means that the merits of the matter have not yet been judged. The main irregularity pointed out is the fact that the resources used in the program are not foreseen in the OGU (General Budget of the Union).
“The legislation that created the program allows the Union to transfer resources to this fund [Fipem-Fundo de Incentivo à Permanência no Ensino Médio]however, it does not allow the payment of incentives to students with resources deposited in Fipem to take place outside the budget”says an excerpt from the rapporteur’s vote.
The Court established a 15-day deadline for manifestations from Caixa Econômica Federal, the Ministry of Education, the Federal Budget Secretariat, the National Treasury Secretariat, and Fipem.
Neighborhood Program
Pé-de-Meia is a financial-educational incentive program aimed at students enrolled in public secondary education who are beneficiaries of CadÚnico (Single Registry for Social Programs of the Federal Government).
Upon proving enrollment and attendance, the student receives a monthly incentive payment of R$200, money that can be withdrawn at any time.
In the case of youth and adult education, upon proving enrollment, the student receives an incentive of R$200, in addition to a monthly incentive of R$225 for attendance, both available for withdrawal.
The beneficiary also receives R$1,000 at the end of each completed year. Money can only be withdrawn from savings after high school graduation.
Considering the incentive installments, annual deposits and the additional R$200 for participating in Enem, the values reach R$9,200 per student.
