Divergências de apuração de educação entre o SIOPE e Tribunais de Contas

Abstract

The social right to education is guaranteed by Article 6 of the Federal Constitution of 1988, which establishes minimum investment percentages for the Union, states, and municipalities. According to Article 212, municipalities must allocate a minimum of 25% of their annual tax revenue to the maintenance and development of education. However, the allocation of resources and compliance with these constitutional minimums by municipalities face challenges due to divergent calculation methodologies adopted by the Audit Courts of their respective states and the Ministry of Education (MEC) through the Public Education Budget Information System (SIOPE). These discrepancies make it difficult to reconcile the municipalities' accounting information with the requirements of supervisory bodies, overburdening them due to the breadth of their responsibilities and the responsibility of compiling the data. The Audit Courts and the National Treasury Secretariat (STN), responsible for the accounting consolidation standards of public accounts, have different interpretations of the Fiscal Responsibility Law (LRF) and other norms, resulting in problems and possible sanctions for local governments. The results reveal discrepancies in education spending in municipalities in three Brazilian states, indicating possible failures in oversight or expenditure reporting. These discrepancies are more evident in larger municipalities, suggesting a relationship between the size of the municipality and its ability to manage public resources. The importance of transparency, data standardization, reconciliation of calculation methods, and collaboration between the Audit Courts and SIOPE is also emphasized to ensure greater effectiveness of public investment in education.