Abstract
Drawing on educational census data and a review of news articles and higher education policies in Brazil, this article examines the impact of COVID-19 on the access and retention of the low-income Brazilian population in higher education. Guided by the question, “What is the impact of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable population in Brazil in terms of access to, and retention in higher education?”, the paper is structured in two sections: the first offers a short historical overview of Brazilian higher education; the second examines the impact of the pandemic on student retention in higher education, looking at factors such as social isolation, job and income precarity, use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), internet access, and technological resources. I argue that distance education offered by private higher education institutions benefits the privileged students and that the effects of the pandemic are detrimental to the socially disadvantaged students since those who are in public universities do not always have access to technology, and those who study in private universities feel the impact of not being able to pay tuition fees, besides the loss of several jobs in different sectors. In conclusion, I recommend policy initiatives to improve access to higher education.
Highlights
Following the Covid-19 outbreak in March 2020 and a social isolation mandate in Brazil, the Ministry of Education, by Decree No 343/2020 (Federative Republic of Brazil, 2020b), suspended classes in the education system, and authorized the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to continue the academic year, in line with policies adopted in other large nations such as China (Zhu & Liu, 2020; Daniel, 2020). 182,600 institutions suspended onsite attendance, leaving 47 million Brazilian students in primary, secondary, and tertiary education without classes
This paper considers the impact of COVID-19 on the access and retention of students in higher education, especially among lowincome groups, guided by the question, “What is the impact of COVID-19 on access to and retention in higher education among socially vulnerable students in Brazil?” I provide a brief historical overview of public policies in Brazil designed to ensure access to higher education as well as their limitations
The paper is structured in two sections: the first offers a historical overview of Brazilian higher education; the second examines the impact of the pandemic on student retention in higher education, looking at factors such as social isolation, job and income precarity, use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), internet access, and technological resources
Summary
Following the Covid-19 outbreak in March 2020 and a social isolation mandate in Brazil, the Ministry of Education, by Decree No 343/2020 (Federative Republic of Brazil, 2020b), suspended classes in the education system, and authorized the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to continue the academic year, in line with policies adopted in other large nations such as China (Zhu & Liu, 2020; Daniel, 2020). 182,600 institutions suspended onsite attendance, leaving 47 million Brazilian students in primary, secondary, and tertiary education without classes. Following the Covid-19 outbreak in March 2020 and a social isolation mandate in Brazil, the Ministry of Education, by Decree No 343/2020 (Federative Republic of Brazil, 2020b), suspended classes in the education system, and authorized the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to continue the academic year, in line with policies adopted in other large nations such as China (Zhu & Liu, 2020; Daniel, 2020). The paper is structured in two sections: the first offers a historical overview of Brazilian higher education; the second examines the impact of the pandemic on student retention in higher education, looking at factors such as social isolation, job and income precarity, use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), internet access, and technological resources. I recommend policy initiatives to improve access to higher education
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