Less than 50,000 students applied to the first phase of the National Higher Education Contest-a value far below to the recorded in recent years and only compared to 2018.
The application deadline for the 1st phase of the contest ended this Monday and, according to data from the Directorate-General for Higher Education (DGES), there were 49,595 candidates, minus 9,046 than last year.
Last year, 58,301 students had been applied, which represents a It is about 15%.
The tendency to reduce candidates had been registered for a few years, but almost inexpressively: by 2020 about 62,000 students tried to enter higher education in the first phase and in the next two years the candidacies continued to always be around 60 thousand.
DGES data show that this year the number of candidates descended to values close to those registered in 2018when only 49,362 students applied for the 1st phase.
In 2020, Covid-19 pandemic year, which led to a temporary change in the rules of access to higher education, fired the candidacies.
Gradually, in recent years, some of the rules have been replaced, such as the obligation to perform various national examinations.
But the replacement of the rules does not explain everything
Student associations have warned that the lack of accommodation accessible costs and Family financial difficulties To endure a child studying away from home can contribute to removing young people from higher education.
Speaking to, the presidents of the Academic Federations of Lisbon and Porto point out that Many students cannot pay accommodation – What vetos, from the outset, the entry into higher education.
“The difference [do números de candidaturas] As expressive as the one that is being verified, it seems to us that it is attached with reasons of a financial nature. With families with economic difficulties and a cost of accommodation that has been growing, there has just been some difficulty in the social action system itself to accompany the needs of families and give them the support that is needed, ”he says Pedro Neto Monteirofrom Lisbon.
“At the Academy of Porto we have fewer and fewer students who are displaced. As they do not have financial possibilities to go to the course they want at the university or polytechnic who want choose not to studyr. And this should worry to everyone, because, as a society, we must ensure that, regardless of the place where people are born, they can dream of a better future, point Francisco Porto Fernandesfrom Porto.
Curiously, This year, there are more than 55 thousand vacancies in the general regime of public education access, which adds 717 vacancies for local competitions, such as artistic courses that require prerequisites for entry.
To these vacancies, there are another 21 thousand that are opened in special regimes and contests, such as the over 23 years or course changes. In the private, there are close to 25,000 places available.
