O direito à educação da criança e do adolescente: (in)efetividade em tempos de pandemia

Abstract

The promulgation of the Brazilian Children and Adolescents Statue as a concretizer of the Federal Constitution of 1988 represented a significant advance on the protection of children and adolescents. Acknowledging them as subjects who are recipient of rights and guarantees, such as education, which is the main topic of this study. Regulated by the Federal Constitution and several other normative instruments that compose the Brazilian legal system, education is considered a fundamental, non-discretionary and inviolable subjective right, in addition to representing an indispensable condition for accomplishing so many other rights, values and objectives pursued by the democratic, rule-of-law State. Despite its undeniable relevance, the analysis of aspects related to the right to education in Brazil demonstrates the existence of a series of challenges that are opposed to its full effectiveness. The history of Brazilian education, marked by precariousness, selectivity and social inequalities also implied in its access, resurfaces even more intensely in the present days due to the scenario caused by the COVID19 pandemic. The closing of schools as a sanitary measure to prevent mass contagion and the adoption of distance learning has brought up several challenges for maintaining the provision of quality education for children and adolescents, especially from the perspective of democratization, equality and access to the means of instruction used in this scenario. Therefore, using exploratory research, the present work examined the right to education for children and adolescents in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, from the perspective of effectiveness, considering, on the one hand, the assumptions from this right as established by legislation and, on the other hand, the challenges faced by educational agents in the current situation. As a result of the analysis, it appears that, despite the legal provisions ensuring the right to education, it still lacks full effectiveness. Hence, the need for greater action by the State in the elaboration and real implementation of public policies aimed at minimizing the negative impacts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic in education arises, with the purpose of giving greater enforcement to this right and ensuring conditions for the full development for children and adolescents.