09/12/2023 – 21:05
Brazil is among the five countries with the lowest percentage of students enrolled in professional education, considering 45 nations analyzed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Education at a Glance study, released this Tuesday, 12th, shows that the rate of Brazilian students in this modality is 11%, well below the average for the group’s countries: 44%. Furthermore, the country records a high number of young people between 18 and 24 years old who neither study nor work, the so-called “neither-nor”: around 24.4% are in this situation.
According to the survey, considering the number of students in technical education, Brazil is ahead of only three countries: India (9%), Canada (10%) and South Africa (10%). The highest enrollment rates in vocational education are in Slovenia (70%) and Croatia (70%).
The study is published annually by the OECD to analyze parameters such as financing, access to education, teacher training, among other points. The research provides data not only from the organization’s member countries, but also from partner countries, such as Brazil. The 2023 edition’s main approach is access to professional education in the countries analyzed.
“Profound and ongoing transformations are reshaping the way we live, learn and work. This reinforces the importance of skills such as problem solving, teamwork and communication, which are fundamental for employability and complement both the academic environment and practical skills. Vocational education and training will become increasingly important to equip students with a combination of these skills, facilitating the transition from school to work”, says the document.
“This very Brazilian idea of not taking professional technical education so seriously or making technical institutes aspire to become universities with all their academicism is part of the country’s problems in generating productive insertion of young people”, says the president of Instituto Singulares, Claudia Costin. “We will not have inclusive development if we do not look at the issue of young people’s first job, productive inclusion, young people entering the world of work, whether right after high school, while studying or after higher education”, he adds. .
Young neither-nor
From this perspective, the low rate of Brazilians in professional education can help explain the high rate of young people aged 18 to 24 out of the classroom and unemployed. The rate of 24.4% is among the six highest in the list of 40 countries with available data. The percentage is well above the 14.7% recorded in the OECD.
The nation with the highest rate of people who neither study nor work is Saudi Arabia (48.8%). At the other extreme, the Netherlands has the lowest rate, with only 4.1% of people aged 18 to 24 unemployed and not studying.
This is a scenario that not only increases chronic inequalities in Brazil, but also produces other serious consequences. The low educational level of the young population directly reduces the country’s productivity rates, as highlighted by Estadão columnist Celso Ming, in June.
One fact that draws attention in the case of Brazil is the gender disparity in the neither-nor population. Women are substantially more affected by unemployment and school exclusion:
“The rates of ‘neither’ among the population aged 18 to 24 in Brazil are high, especially among women. In this country, 30% of women between 18 and 24 years old neither study nor work, compared to 18.8% among men of the same age”, shows the study.
The rate among Brazilian women corresponds to more than double the 14% rate recorded in the average female population in OECD countries. In the case of men, the OECD average is 15%.
“It is a result of the overload on women of domestic tasks and care, especially those who have children up to 7 years old and are poor”, says the research and evaluation coordinator at Instituto Unibanco, Raquel Souza. According to her, public policies need to consider this strong gender inequality that also exists among young neither-nors. “To ensure the right of this population to continue their studies and enter the job market, we need support networks for women and daycare is one of them”, she adds.
New law aims to encourage enrollment in technical education
Last month, Congress approved a law that establishes new rules for Brazilian technical education. The legislation, cited in the OECD report, is seen as a tool to encourage young people to enter this modality. One of the measures of the new law is to allow students to take advantage of credits from subjects taken during technical secondary education in higher education.
The law also determines that a specific evaluation system be created for technical and technological education. Another point brought by the legal framework is the possibility of counting hours worked in learning programs in the school workload and vice versa. From now on, the federal government will have two years to develop a national professional education policy.
“Technical education is often seen as an alternative option for students who have problems with school or lack motivation, rather than being a first option that leads to attractive careers. It is necessary to make professional education more attractive and accessible to face the challenges of the job market and guide all students towards programs suited to their talents and aspirations”, argues the report.
Encouraging professional education was one of the pillars sought by the secondary education reform, sanctioned in 2017. The model provides for students to undertake basic general training and then choose to deepen their studies among five available areas, the so-called “training itineraries”: Languages , Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Human Sciences and Professional and Technological Education.
Since its approval, however, the reform has been the target of harsh criticism from experts and students. One of the main arguments is that the configuration would deepen existing educational inequalities in the country, as there is little control over the training itineraries offered. Faced with the questions, the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva began a review of the model. The text of the Bill with proposed modifications to the secondary education reform is expected to be finalized this week.
One of the consensuses regarding the changes is the change in working hours, which currently has a limit of 800 hours over the three years. According to Estadão, basic general training will consist of 2400 hours and specific training will consist of 600 hours. The exception is related to the training itinerary linked to technical and professional education. In this case, there will be 2,100 hours for the basic content and 900 for the specific part.
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