Access, expansion and equity in higher education: New challenges for educational policy

Abstract

Higher education has entered the list of priorities and strategic topics for the future of nations: there is widespread belief that development requires an increase in the population's educational levels. In Brazil, however, only 11.5% of 17-24-year-olds reach higher education. How to increase access and achieve more equity with quality education is a core issue for educational policy. In the last decade, solutions were proposed for more access dnd equity by diversifying the system through the creation of new kinds of Higher Education Institutions, new kinds and modalities of courses, as well as affirmative action policies (PROUNI e quota policies). The analysis of statistical data, interviews, documents, and legislation reveals the current scenario: broader access as well as the establishment of inclusion policies took place mainly through the private educational system, thus generating a socially unjust effect on democratization.