The Influence of Stock Exchange Companies in the Quality of Brazilian Higher Education

Abstract

In Brazil, an increasing 75 percent of Higher Education is currently controlled by private entities, from which nearly 70 percent is owned by stock exchange companies, which have become prominent over the past two decades. However, there is little information on whether the presence or absence of stock exchange companies affected the quality of education. Therefore, this article investigated the education quality assessment system, the National Higher Education Assessment System (SINAES), and the National Student Performance Exam (ENADE). We also conducted in-depth interviews (N=9) with experts on the subject and grasped relevant nuances. Findings pointed out evidence that the entry of stock exchange companies did not improve the quality of higher education over the past decades. (i) Low remuneration of professors, (ii) more significant concern with the number of enrollments and not graduating students, (iii) more significant concern with returns for shareholders instead of the quality of education standards, and (iv) absence of a regulatory agency for the sector were some of the shreds of evidence pointed out as causes for the poor influence of the stock exchange companies in quality of the Brazilian Higher Education, discussed in this work.