According to the 15th edition of the Higher Education Map in Brazil, number represents a 5.6% increase over the previous year; EAD enrollment represent almost half of the total students in Brazil: 49.3%
In 2023, Brazil reached a significant milestone in the with almost 10 million students enrolled. This number represents a 5.6% increase over the previous year, highlighting a remarkable growth in the country’s education sector. This advance was mostly driven by private institutions, which now concentrate 79.3% of enrollment, an increase of 7.3% compared to 2022. However, this growth also brings considerable challenges, especially with regard to school dropout.
Distance learning (EAD) is quickly approaching in -person teaching in terms of enrollment and it is expected to exceed the exceeding in the coming years. By 2023, 50.7% of enrollment were still in -person, while distance learning courses already represented 49.3% of the total, a growth of 3.4 percentage points over the previous year. Despite this growth, dropout is still a critical problem, with abandonment rates reaching 60% in some courses, especially in the distance mode. Lúcia Teixeira, president of Unisanta, points out that the financial issue is one of the main factors for the high dropout rate, with many students needing funding to proceed with their studies.
Financing programs, such as the And Fies have faced significant challenges, with a reduction in the number of scholarships and registration. By 2023, only 1% of freshmen used Fies, and ProUni reduced their 610,000 bags to about 403,000. Lúcia Teixeira suggests that the expansion of public educational programs is essential to improve access to higher education. She points out that the restrictive rules of FIES and uncertainty about students’ future income make institutional funding a more attractive option.
The challenge now is to ensure that students will conclude their courses, with the expectation that new public policies will make higher education more accessible and efficient. Currently, only 20% of young Brazilians between 18 and 24 years old are enrolled in higher education, a number that is well below the goal set by the National Education Plan. The implementation of effective and inclusive policies is crucial to increasing this percentage and ensuring that growth in the number of enrollment translates into an increase in the number of trainees.
*With information from Valéria Luizette
*Report produced with the aid of AI
