Analysis: Pandemic exacerbated Brazil’s inequalities between rich and poor, public and private education

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Covid-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the country’s education, exacerbating the already existing inequalities between the public and private systems and between poor and wealthy students, according to data from the Social Indicators Survey (SIS) released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) on Friday, December 3.

In addition to having had far fewer classes (in person or remote) during the pandemic, the poorest students also faced the most diverse structural challenges – from the lack of internet and computers for distance learning to the absence of water and soap in schools to wash their hands.

According to the IBGE, the pandemic represents the greatest adversity ever faced by Brazilian basic education.

“The pandemic was a catastrophe for basic education,” said IBGE’s educational indicators analyst and researcher Betina Fresneda. “It worsened the inequalities of the school systems, the deep regional inequalities of a continental country, the challenges in implementing distance learning.”

According to UNESCO, Brazil is among the countries with the longest period of in-person classes suspended. Virtually all basic education schools (99.3%) suspended activities and 90.1% did not return in the 2020 school year, totaling an average of 279.4 days with no in-person classes (287.5 in public schools and 247.7 in private schools).

“The pandemic represented not only a health crisis of historic proportions, but also resulted in the greatest adversity ever faced by Brazilian basic education in terms of ensuring access to school for all children and adolescents aged 4 to 17,” the IBGE analysis claims.

“The situation is even more challenging for the public schools, which concentrate 80% of the supply in early childhood education and elementary and high school. The historical inequalities in the country have been exacerbated, both by internal factors of the education system, such as its capacity to propose alternative activities, as well as external ones due to the different realities of access to these activities by students with distinct socioeconomic features.”

At least 10.8% of students without in-person classes also lacked school activities. The percentage of students aged 6 to 17 in the public system with no in-person classes and no offer of educational activities was 4 times higher in public than in private schools.

Less than half of schools (42.6%) held online classes (live, with the possibility of interaction between student and teacher), and the vast majority (69.8%) of those that did were private schools.

A little over 1/3 of students (35.6%) aged 15 to 17 dedicated less than 2 hours a day to their studies. The incidence of less dedication to studies, once again, is higher among public school students (39.2%) and those with lower incomes.

“The share of students who were unable to study 5 days a week reached 35% among the most vulnerable,” the researcher said. “The pandemic was a challenge for everyone, but it deeply affected the most vulnerable, mainly due to digital exclusion.”

The concurrent availability of internet and computers in the homes of students aged 15 to 17 was found in 54% of households, but the split is highly uneven. Among students in private schools, this share reaches 90.5%, while among public school students, it is less than half (48.6%).

When the analysis is made by race, another layer of inequality emerges. The vast majority of whites (67.3%) had computers and Internet access, against 46.8% of black and brown students.

However, digital exclusion is not the only hindrance. A significant percentage of students across the country have difficulty accessing one of the most basic hygiene structures in schools: a sink in usable condition (with water) and soap.

Data from 2019 showed that while virtually all private schools (98%) had these items, the rate in the public network was only 56.2%. In other words, less than half of public school students were able to adequately wash their hands at school.

“It was a very difficult year for education, in which inequalities were heightened,” summarized the research. “The pandemic could generate long-lasting negative results unless highly effective measures are adopted.”