Universidade Federal de Bahia- UFBA
I have now completed three weeks of classes at the Federal University of Brazil in Bahia and in that short time, I have learned so much about Brazil's education system. UFBA is just one of Brazil's many different public universities and in Salvador, there are multiple UFBA campuses located in various neighborhoods around the city. Universities in Brazil are much different from the US because students don't live on campus and each campus is centered around a specific area of study. For public health, we have been attending the Escola de Enfermagem en Canela (the Nursing school that is located in Canela), but there is also an architecture school, a polytechnic campus, and a music school. The most interesting thing that I learned about universities in Brazil is that public universities are much better than private ones because of the amount of government support that they receive and because they are better educational institutions, spaces are limited and highly competitive. How does a student get into the university?
It all starts with what sort of primary education you get. In Brazil, most public schools are only half day and have two sessions- kids either go in the morning or in the afternoon. Public schools across the board lack the proper resources, funding, and support from the government, and as a result, a lot of students just get pushed through the system. Private school on the other hand, provide a top notch education for a price that only those in the highest socioeconomic levels can afford. At the end of your time in high school, all students who wish to attend the government funded and supported public institutions must take an exam. The results of the exam determine your acceptance to the public university and as a result, those who are better prepared through private primary and secondary schooling take up the spots in the public universities.
For those who do not gain a spot in the public universities, if they still want to attend college they must pay the extremely high fees and costs that private universities charge. What's interesting is that the elite in Brazil who can afford to pay for private schooling for 12 years then get to attend universities for very low costs while someone who is from a lower socioeconomic level who wants to further their education has to find a way to pay costly school fees.
This educational system has, for many years, privileged the wealthy and marginalized the poor as private school students funnel into public universities, leaving little space for students who did not have the same type of access to education. Because social class and race are so intricately woven together in Brazil, a large number of Afro Brazilians who wanted to attend universities were unable to because of their inability to shoulder the financial burden of a private institution. Some universities saw this as an issue and have for many years instituted quota systems in order to diversify their student bodies while also providing opportunities for hard working students. On a national level, however, affirmative action laws were only instituted by the Brazilian government in 2012. Although it is still early to tell, the hope is that this will level the playing field and allow for a new and diverse group of students to be attending universities and create a new generation of leaders in Brazil whose backgrounds are more reflective of the population as a whole.
While education in Brazil has a ways to go, I believe that the tide is turning for the better. I have enjoyed my time at UFBA. In the next few weeks, I hope to find ways to get more involved on the campus, find ways to take advantage of academic resources as I begin my research, and make some more Brazilian friends! Every single day here has been a new adventure and I continue to fall in love with the people, the culture, and slowly but surely improve my Portuguese. Fingers crossed for my first exam tomorrow... espero poder passar!