2023 data show that 19,000 dropouts are enough for the impact on public accounts to reach $ 1 billion
Each student who studies at Brazilian federal universities represents an average cost of R $ 52,533 to taxpayers, according to the estimate of the Poder360 based on data from 2023 of the.
The 69 institutions considered for the survey had a budget allocation of R $ 57.9 billion that year. This was the amount available for all organs expenses. It had 1.1 million students enrolled in the period.
There was the calculation of the average value when dividing the funds of universities by the number of enrollment (understand more about the methodology at the end of the report).
Read the full panorama in the infographic below:
With an average annual investment of R $ 52,533, it is enough for about 19,000 college students to abandon the federal so that R $ 1 billion for higher education has no academic return in 1 year.
If a student has spent 4 years in college, for example, the tendency is that the wasted value is even higher.
Career educator and researcher at USP (University of São Paulo) of Ribeirão Preto, Mozart Neves Ramos said data show the responsibility that students from federal universities should have when joining institutions. Mentioned dropouts as a negative weight.
The percentage of evasion of the courses has slowed down. The most recent Higher Education Census showed that the annual federal withdrawal rate fell from 13% in 2015 to 2% in 2023:
Another weight in the accounts presented by Mozart Neves concerns the effort of the university to graduate within the standard period. A permanence beyond necessary represents an extra investment of tax payers.
“I believe that students attending a federal public, or even state university should have a great zeal in the conclusion of their course and in regular time. After all, who pays this is the citizen.”declared the expert to Poder360.
Mozart stated that the average cost varies according to the course chosen by each student. A class of dentistry needs equipment and laboratories, for example. It is more expensive than an economy, with a greater focus on theory.
“There are a set of variables that are taken into account in this distribution of the federal higher education system. […] For example, a course with essentially theoretical classes costs less per student ”said the researcher.
University expense
The estimate of Poder360 It showed that Unifesp (Federal University of São Paulo) has the highest average cost per student, with R $ 93,472.
The gaucho UFRGS (R $ 80,338) and UFSM (R $ 77,133) close the top 3, as shown in the infographic below:
The largest slice of the 20 institutions with the highest expenses is in the Southeast or South. Mozart Neves evaluates that this can be explained by the greater investment of these bodies in research practices.
“I would risk saying that an important factor is related to research and graduate. Southeast universities are stronger, globally, compared to the rest of the country”these.
Access the average annual value per student in each of the 69 universities considered for the survey.
METHODOLOGY
O Poder360 raised the data about the students at. Budget allocation values are on the platform, with the most up -to -date figures available. Both sites are linked to.
The calculation of the average spending per student was made from the division of the money by the total amount of enrollment. This is an estimate. Factors such as Course and Time of Permanence can influence the account.
The budget allocation of universities considers all the money available to the institution in 2023. Includes all expenses, such as infrastructure and electricity bill.
It may be that not all organs have spent the entire endowment. In addition, it is possible that there is freezing in the amount.
Regarding the number of students enrolled, the Higher Education Census brought data from 2023 far below the average of previous years to 3 universities:
- UFRPE (Federal Rural University of Pernambuco);
- UFAPE (Federal University of Agreste de Pernambuco);
- UFT (Federal University of Tocantins).
Therefore, this digital newspaper considered the total of enrollment in 2022 solely in the 3 institutions above.
