X-ray of Brazilian Higher Education
At the end of August 2017, the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (Inep), of the Ministry of Education (MEC), released data from the Higher Education Census. The Census is carried out annually, providing data that helps the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of public policies and research. The Census collects information on Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), undergraduate and sequential courses and students and teachers linked to these courses. The results are also used by the National Higher Education Assessment System (Sinaes), to calculate the Preliminary Course Concept (CPC) and General Course Index (IGC) indicators. The data also allows, through the monitoring of information from different editions, the analysis of the students' trajectory from the moment they enter a certain undergraduate course, and, consequently, monitoring indicators in higher education.
The announced Census (with data from 2016) indicates that 34.366 undergraduate courses were offered in 2.407 HEIs, with a total of 8.052.254 students enrolled. Of the HEIs, 87,7% are private and 12,3% are public (federal, state and municipal). The distribution of students on Brazilian courses remains stable: 75,3% of university students are in the private sector while 24,7% are in the public sector. This proportion is quite unusual in the world. There are 197 universities in the country, which correspond to only 8,2% of the total number of HEIs, but which account for 53,7% of enrollments in undergraduate courses. In 2016, the number of enrollments in higher education (undergraduate and sequential) remained practically stable in relation to 2015 (the positive variation was just 0,2%). Bachelor's degrees represent almost 70% of enrollments.
The Census also shows that there is little use of the vacancies offered in Brazilian educational institutions, mainly private ones. The national average is that, of the 7,8 million new vacancies, only 33,5% were filled (In 2016, more than 10,6 million vacancies were offered in undergraduate courses, but only approximately 3 million were filled) . This occupancy rate is small, especially among private universities (29,6%). Among public ones, the index is well above the general total: 91,9% of new vacancies in 2016 were filled.
The distance learning modality increased by more than 20% when compared to 2015, while in-person courses there was a decrease in the number of entrants of 3,7%. The Census also indicates that more than 1,1 million students completed higher education, suggesting that there is a considerable dropout rate, which still needs to be investigated in more detail.
The Census also shows the ten largest undergraduate courses in Brazil, which account for 51% of enrollments in all higher education. They are: Law (11%), Administration (9,1%), Pedagogy (8,7%), Civil Engineering (4,6%), Accounting Sciences (4,5%), Nursing (3,5%) , Psychology (3%), Degree in Physical Education (2,4%), Architecture and Urban Planning (2,1%) and Production Engineering (2,1%).
The results also indicate the country's difficulty in increasing the participation of young people aged 18 to 24 in Higher Education. Only 18% of these young people are in Higher Education, while the goal of the National Education Plan would be to reach the level of 33% in 2024. In other words, Brazil would need to practically double the number of young people in Higher Education Institutions, in just over six years, a task that seems quite difficult. These data make it possible to carry out a true X-ray of Brazilian higher education, in purely quantitative terms, but which already serve to indicate trends, and show that there is a long way to go.
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