Cessação de atividades das escolas estaduais do/no campo na abrangência do muncípio de Erechim – RS: 1996-2024

Abstract

Rural Education is characterized by the type of education that serves communities residing in rural areas, grounded on principles such as remaining in that environment and valuing peasant culture. Schools located in these areas have become the stage for struggles and tensions regarding the imminent closure of their activities, stemming from a neoliberal perspective on education and justifications presented by maintaining authorities, such as lack of financial resources and low student enroll-ment. This study investigated the closure of state-run rural schools in the municipa-lity of Erechim, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, between the years 1996 and 2024, aiming to clarify the reasons given by the maintaining authority, as well as the implications and arguments that led to the termination of activities at six (06) rural schools belonging to the state education system under the jurisdiction of the 15th Regional Education Coordination Office –Erechim – RS. This is a qualitative, des-criptive-analytical research, based on bibliographic studies, and structured as a case study. Research instruments included official documents and reports, from which information was gathered about the closed schools, in order to develop arguments and provide a critical perspective on the phenomenon under study. Among the do-cuments consulted were also the Law of Guidelines and Bases for National Educa-tion (LDB) – Law No. 9,394/96, and the Operational Guidelines for Basic Education in Rural Schools. It is inferred that the closure of rural schools in this municipality was inevitable, considering the low number of students and the lack of prospects for growth; it is understood that the communities are directly affected by the closure of these schools, as it results in problems related to distance and accessibility for the remaining students, in addition to the loss of local living culture. Furthermore, it im-pacts the lives of these students and the communities that continue to resist in these areas, as leaving one’s community encourages rural exodus.