One of the proposals in the report “A look at higher education in Brazil” is the creation of federal colleges
Public colleges, night courses and expansion of EaD (distance learning) in higher education courses are some of the proposals of the ABC (Brazilian Academy of Sciences) working group to improve public higher education and democratize access to quality education. The proposals are in the report A look at higher education in Brazill, released this week.
Among the main proposals is the creation of federal colleges, institutions focused exclusively on teaching, aiming to train qualified professionals at a lower cost per student, to expand student access to public higher education.
Currently, federal universities are also dedicated to research and extension, which is interaction with society, in projects aimed at social improvements. The proposal would be to create public institutions focused exclusively on training students in higher education. The idea is to facilitate the opening of vacancies that adapt to the current demands of students, such as greater flexibility and access to evening education, for example.
In Brazil, according to the report, only 22% of the population aged 25 to 34 have a university degree. This percentage is below the average for OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, 47%. Furthermore, 79% of enrollments are concentrated in the private sector.
“This is a very small number, if we think about a country that needs to develop quickly”says professor at the UFRJ Physics Institute Rodrigo Capaz, full member of ABC, who was part of the working group.
“When we look at experiences around the world, we see that in no country in the world has the massification or democratization of higher education occurred through research universities. Because although they are ultimately highly qualified to carry out research, they end up having an expense per student that is higher than another type of institution that would be dedicated only to teaching”these.
In addition to federal faculties, the document also proposes the creation of Training Centers in Strategic Areas in public universities. They would be focused on 6 fields:
- bioeconomy;
- agriculture and agribusiness;
- energy transition;
- health and well-being;
- digital transformation and artificial intelligence; and
- advanced materials and quantum technologies.
These centers would act in an interdisciplinary manner, promoting the creation of applicable solutions and the development of new technologies for these strategic areas.
Distance learning
The report also proposes the expansion and qualification of the offer of public courses in the distance learning modality, aimed at those who need flexibility.
Distance learning has seen strong growth in recent years. From 2011 to 2021, the number of students in higher education courses in this modality. In the same period, the number of students who enrolled in face-to-face courses decreased by 23.4%. In 2022, 81% of students entering undergraduate courses enrolled in the distance learning modality.
This expansion, however, raised an alert regarding the need to guarantee the quality of the offering of these courses. Therefore, the Ministry of Education (MEC) suspended the creation of new vacancies in distance learning until 2025, so that the regulatory framework for these courses can be reviewed.
Currently, distance learning vacancies are mostly maintained by the private sector, 71.7%, against 12.9% in the public sector. The proposal is for federal institutions to expand the offer of this modality.
“We cannot deny that distance learning is a real, and I think irreversible, demand of modern society. Obviously, not all courses will be distance learning and that is not what we propose, but that we can use this instrument, which is a powerful instrument for expanding teaching, which allows, for example, students in difficult locations to access are attended to or students with limited time availability who need to make their schedule more flexible”said Capaz.
Valuing higher education
According to Capaz, the group’s work also aims to value higher education and expand access to it for the Brazilian population. “There is still a lot of space and needs for us to increase the fraction of Brazilians with higher education. And this is what will ultimately lead to the country’s development.”it says.
The report is presented in a context of federal government spending cuts. Even so, for the president of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and also one of the members of the GT, Helena Nader, education must be prioritized.
“Education, in our view at the Academy, should be a priority of the Brazilian State. Without education there will be no stable economy and there will be no social justice. We know about the cuts, but the country needs more professionally qualified personnel, including in the face of these changes that come as a result of artificial intelligence”he states.
With information from .
