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Camilo Santana stated that the biggest complaint from teachers is not salary, but the lack of recognition, and presented measures from the Ministry of Education to enhance the teaching career and make the profession more attractive.
At a lunch with entrepreneurs in São Paulo this Friday (26), the Minister of Education, Camilo Santana, stated that the main complaint from basic education teachers is not remuneration, but the lack of recognition.
“The first complaint teachers make is not about salary, but rather the lack of recognition,” he said at an event organized by the Esfera Brasil group. According to the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, this statement was accompanied by a promise to prioritize policies for enhancing the teaching career.
Recognition Over Salary
In the Minister’s assessment, teaching is socially viewed as a “second-tier” profession, which discourages young people from pursuing a teaching degree.
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He advocated for a coordinated movement to elevate the prestige of the teaching profession and presented ongoing actions from the Ministry of Education to address the problem.
Santana’s agenda has been presented at various forums with the private sector and educational entities, such as the Fnesp, held in São Paulo, where he reinforced measures to attract and train teachers.
Minimum Wage for 2025 and How It Is Calculated
The national minimum wage for teachers in 2025 is set at R$ 4,867.77 for 40 weekly hours, adjusted by 6.27% through the MEC Ordinance No. 77, published on January 31.
This amount derives from what is mandated by Law 11.738/2008 and the Fundeb rules: the annual update references the variation in the VAAF-Fundeb between 2023 and 2024.
It is not linked to the full inflation index of the IPCA.
In practice, the minimum wage is a national minimum amount, and states and municipalities need to formalize payment in their own regulations.
The Ministry emphasizes that the educational networks — and not the Union — are responsible for the payments.
Compliance with the Minimum Wage Is Still a Challenge
Despite the adjustment, about one-third of municipalities did not pay at least the minimum wage to public school teachers in 2023.
Data from the Brazilian Basic Education Yearbook 2025 by the Todos Pela Educação movement indicates that 68.5% of cities guaranteed the minimum amount that year, with significant regional differences.
The scenario helps explain why the salary issue remains sensitive in local networks, even with a defined national minimum wage.
Measures from the MEC to Enhance the Career
In response, the MEC centers its strategy on the More Teachers program.
One of the pillars is the National Teacher Exam (PNE), nicknamed the “Enem for Teachers,” which is set to debut with applications scheduled for October 26, 2025.
The exam, developed by Inep, will support the selection of teachers by states and municipalities, standardizing part of the assessment of general and specific knowledge of undergraduate degrees.
Another component is the Pé-de-Meia Licenciaturas, a monthly financial incentive for undergraduate students with a performance of at least 650 points on the Enem.
The benefit totals R$ 1,050 per month, with R$ 700 available for withdrawal each month and R$ 350 as savings for redemption after joining a public network, within five years.
This initiative aims to make teaching more attractive for high-performing students.
National Card and Discounts via #TôComProf
To reinforce symbolic recognition and offer practical benefits, the National Teacher ID of Brazil (CNDB) was signed into law, a valid identification document for teachers in both public and private networks.
The CNDB is part of the More Teachers program and is expected to provide access to benefits and discounts on services and programs.
In the same vein, the MEC launched the #TôComProf badge, which authorizes partner companies willing to offer discounts to teachers.
A public call remains open until November 30.
The “#TôComProf” signage at points of sale will indicate special conditions upon presentation of the card.
What Business Leaders Are Saying
Santana’s remarks found support from representatives of the private educational sector.
Marcelo Battistella Bueno, one of the founders of Ânima Educação, stated that it is necessary to face the low attractiveness of the career head-on.
He argued that “the teacher needs to be a hero, needs to be a reference.”
Ânima, a group founded by Daniel Castanho, Maurício Escobar, and Bueno himself, has been discussing ways to enhance and train teachers.
Minimum Wage and Comparison with the Minimum Wage for Teachers
Questions have arisen regarding the equivalence of the minimum wage to “three minimum salaries.”
In 2025, the minimum wage was set at R$ 1,502 by Congress.
Thus, the minimum wage of R$ 4,867.77 corresponds to slightly more than three minimum wages, but not exactly three, as sometimes inaccurately summarized.
Next Steps
The Minister maintains that social recognition, talent attraction, and quality training go hand in hand with salary enhancement.
At the same time, local compliance with the minimum wage remains a critical point, dependent on the budget and management of states and, especially, municipalities.
Santana has told sector interlocutors that the priority is to create an environment where teaching becomes a desirable career project again — and that the measures introduced this year gain scale starting in 2026.
In your network or school, what weighs more today in attracting and retaining teachers: salary or recognition?
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