Regulation and Legislation of Distance Education: The Brazilian Experience

The Minister of Higher Education, Ms. Ligia Amado Melo, opened a three day seminar on "Regulation and Legislation of Distance Education: The Brazilian Experience," led by two officials of the Brazilian Ministry of Education, Professor Luciane Carneiro, Coordinator for Education, and Dr. Helio Chaves Filho, Director for Policy on Distance Education.

This activity is the result of a collaboration with the
Secretary of Higher Education, Science and Technology of the Dominican Republic, SEESCYT, the Ministry of Education of Brazil and its Secretary of Distance Education, and Global Foundation for Democracy and Development, GFDD, with the support of Odebrecht Dominican Republic.

The need for such an event became apparent when laying the groundwork for the creation of a Virtual University with Dominican contents, a project being developed by Global Foundation
for Democracy and Development.

This workshop provided the right venue for experts from the Dominican education, Ministry’s officials, university deans and other stakeholders to get acquainted with the Brazilian experience, chosen because of its excellent pedagogical profile which has been a model for other initiatives in Latin America . It responds to the existing need to discuss distance education and to find the best approach at the creation of a piece
of legislation aimed at regulating the offer and the existing needs, capable of maintaining the required international standards and quality control.

A good legislation of this field contributes to a healthy competition among the offered programs and validates the efforts taken by individuals in their attempt to improve their education and professional development.

This effort supports one of the goals of GFDD to
contribute to the sustainable development and competitivity of the country, strengthening its human capacity and improving the standards of education and the use of the latest technology.

www.mec.gov.br

www.seecyt.gov.do