Brazil's firms forced to teach basic skills

Brazilian employers understand that relationship and recognize Mr. Rodriguez's explanation. They say it is why they are providing more schooling for their employees. Most firms, like Petrobras or Tecnisa, a major construction firm, provide on-site classrooms and teachers before or after work. Others, like Zanzini, a furnituremaker, opt for more immediate solutions.

The $32 million-a-year company is based in a small town in rural São Paulo and therefore has the pick of the local workforce, says Leonardo Magnili, Zanzini's human-resources director. But even then, so many employees were having trouble with everyday tasks that managers set up a classroom in the middle of the factory floor to provide impromptu lessons.

"When we see that someone can't do something, we take them straight to the classroom and try to explain it," says Mr. Magnili, adding that the overall standard of handwriting is so poor that they offer calligraphy courses. "It is common to see people who can't read or write or fill in forms. They have finished secondary school but they can't add without a calculator or fill in a form. They should know this stuff."

But they don't, and empirical evidence shows why. The performance of Brazilian math students was the worst of 40 countries in the most recent study by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Exactly half of Brazilian 15-year-olds fall short of even the most basic level of math proficiency, according to the study. The number was four times that of Russia and about 25 times that of Korea.

In reading, Brazil's performance was also poor: 74 percent of Brazilian 15-year-olds could not demonstrate detailed understanding of texts, a number three times that of Korea. Between a quarter and a third cannot read basic sentences properly, the study showed.

Teachers here in the Reduc canteen are anxious to resolve the situation. But in spite of their efforts, and those of the students – many of whom come from the impoverished northeast and are taking their first lessons at the age that some Brazilians retire – they are hamstrung by the sheer enormity of the task.

One woman in her 50s, given the task of rating the prices of five items, could not tell whether 99 cents was more or less than 69 cents. A man struggled to rank three different goods, starting with the most expensive. Others could only haltingly read short texts.

Yet the students still plug away, eager to better themselves. They know they are starting late, but they can see there are both personal and professional advantages to studying hard.

"I had the chance to study when I was a kid, but I couldn't be bothered," said Raimundo da Silva, a 36-year-old laborer poring over a composition exercise. "Now I can see that if I learn more, I can earn more. My company gives me an incentive to learn. We can see people who go to school move up. Now I come here straight from work, even though there's a bus waiting to take me home. I want to go forward, not back."

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