A casa ou a escola? Estudo sobre a relação entre o direito à moradia e o direito à educação escolar no âmbito do Programa Minha Casa Minha Vida em Juiz de Fora/MG

Abstract

The theme of this work is inscribed in the intersection of problems of two classic fields of sociology, namely, the sociology of education and urban sociology. This intersection, which includes reflections on the right to education on the one hand and the right to housing on the other, is part of a perspective analysis which has recently been conquering space in Brazil and strengthening relations between sociology and urban planning. Aiming to understand the relationship between the right to education and the right to housing within the scope of Minha Casa Minha Vida Program (MCMV), the research has sought to identify whether and how that program, by promoting the right to housing, sometimes reinforcing segregation, has produced effects on the right to education, especially on school attendance and on the schooling process of children and young people in the city of Juiz de Fora. Bibliographic production was used regarding the MCMV Program, the right to education and the trajectory of school and public education in Brazil. The return to this bibliographic production contributed to reflections about the effects of the organization of the urban space promoted by the MCMV on the right to education and on the educational opportunities for children and young people in Juiz de Fora. The perceptions of the interviewed subjects - educators, mothers of basic education students and young people between 15 and 19 years old about such interferences were also analyzed. This text demonstrates that both rights - housing and education - matter and that it is necessary to recognize and respect the interconnection and interdependence between them to promote human development and dignified life. It is believed that, for the real promotion of these two dimensions, the interconnection and interdependence between rights, especially with regard to this research, between the right to education and the right to housing, must be understood and respected by those involved in the elaboration and implementation of public policies, especially when targeting low-income segments, such as the one served by Minha Casa Minha Vida Program “Empresas faixa 1”. It is also believed that the incorporation of the territorial dimension and the articulation between sectors in the implementation of public policies are imperative, guidelines that demand receptivity for the development of intersectoral actions and adaptations in the educational pact. The survey data reveal that, in addition to the place where the residences are located and the location of schools in relation to them, when there is an attempt to satisfy the right to housing, urban and social dynamics act to deny other rights and to reduce educational opportunities. Examples of these dynamics would be urban violence, irregularities in the occupation of properties, mobility problems and the socioeconomic conditions of families. Such factors interfere with school attendance and the schooling process, demanding from educators a more sensitive stance to the characteristics of the territory and an expanded look at the implications of the conformation and uses of the territory in promoting the right to education. The data also reveal differences between what was proclaimed and what was accomplished with regard to rights in Brazil - differences that, in the educational field, shape new challenges and new demands on school management and attendance, highlighting the new ways of exclusion that are present in Brazilian public school. It is believed that facing these new challenges as well as new educational demands require the articulation between institutions and policies that go beyond the sectoral perspective. Otherwise, there is no way to overcome the gaps between what has been proclaimed and what has been achieved within the scope of social rights in Brazil. Otherwise, there is no way to turn the subjects of rights into subjects with accomplished rights and totaly participants in a fully democratic society.