Public education in Brazil is an old issue. Public schools and universities have faced and still face problems of lack of infrastructure and resources, which has made the educational system precarious.
However, when education is democratized and of high quality, it transforms lives, especially for people in vulnerable situations.
Why is it that important?
Education is the main path to achieving a better quality of life. The higher a person’s degree, the greater the chances of getting a good job or, at least, recognition for their abilities or thoughts. This can completely change the reality of poor people—but it is a rarer opportunity for them than for the ones who can afford private schools. Private institutions provide more infrastructure and more content, so their students have more chances of passing entrance exams than the ones in public schools, which excludes them from good degrees.
Another important point related to education is the research produced by public universities. Sources from UFPA (Federal University of Pará) show that more than 95% of scientific research comes from them. One of the most classic examples was a discovery related to health: the use of tilapia skin for treating burns, a procedure widely used in medicine nowadays, came from the Federal University of Ceará (UFC).
Investing heavily in science, technology and academic studies can bring massive changes on a national scale; something similar happened in countries like China, for example, whose development was boosted by investments from the Chinese government in technologies for education institutions. The BBC article that talks about it was written in 2014, and the results of what was reported in it are visible.
Lastly, schools, prep courses and universities go beyond giving information to students: they also have social responsibility. Education gives us a critical perspective of the world we live in. If the whole society is aware of its problems, we can be one step closer to a fairer world.
What are the obstacles?
In Brazil, the main problem when it comes to public education is a lack of investment from the government. Consequently, educational institutions, especially elementary and high schools, have no infrastructure for the students and not even for the teachers: they must face a 40-hour workload in many big (around 30-40 students) classrooms, suffering from violence and burnout, all of that for a low salary (R$ 4.867,77 a month). Besides, it is very difficult to make kids and teenagers pay attention and enjoy classes with few resources.
The Brazilian Yearbook (Directory) of Basic Education of 2025 shows that more than half of public schools do not have sewage treatment facilities, and more than 20% do not have garbage collection services. A minority of institutions still don’t provide clean water, electricity nor restrooms. Teaching requires a safe and adequate place that stimulates learning and socialization between students. But if a school can’t provide the bare minimum, then students won’t even go to classes.
Also, discouraging speeches for students are getting more common. In the first half of November 2025, the governor of São Paulo, Tarcisio de Freitas, said “Diplomas are becoming less and less relevant” to get a job.
And this demotivation becomes obvious when the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) shows that the main reason for teenagers to stop studying is the need to start or keep working due to necessity or lack of interest in studying – because of working demands that don’t correlate to school content, added to a hostile environment, low investments, bad quality materials, and exhausted teachers who can’t handle this job.
When it comes to universities, this problem is different: they have a minimal structure, but only a few people can join them. The number of slots is limited, so students must go through entrance exams to go to college. Many people try, but only the ones who have time and conditions to study are usually able to pass them.
As a way to ease this inequality between rich and poor students, some institutions created popular prep courses that demand lower costs and teach/review high school contents for those who need it. They also help people to study for entrance exams and, this way, it is easier for them to pass and go to a good university. But that would be a shallow solution for a very deep problem in the Brazilian political system.
Definitive solutions
The best thing to do would be, undoubtedly, investing in public education. The Brazilian school system lacks quality and infrastructure, and this is an old problem. Investments in schools and universities increased during left-wing governments , but the resources are far from adequate. Raising teacher’s salaries, making a good environment and didactic materials that teaches everything a student must know are some of the ways the government could change our scenery.
Last year, the Ministry of Education announced incentive programs, like “Pé-de-meia”, trying to keep kids and teenagers in school and make them go to college. These programs consist in giving them/their families an amount of money, so they don’t give up school to work. It shows that the government is looking at this problem and is completely aware of it, but is not trying to solve it properly.
Investments in universities could also be good to increase the number of slots. This way, they would be more accessible, and not as restricted as a “universal education” should be. On a larger scale, this measure could end entrance exams, because it wouldn’t be necessary to select the “best students”.
This way, if Brazil makes education an important matter, it will also make our country a better place.
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The article above was edited by Eloá Costa.
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