Access to private colleges through Student Financing Fund (Fies) it is more difficult, according to the Brazilian Association of Higher Education Supporters (ABMES). According to the entity, of the 310,000 vacancies offered, only 80,300 were filled, equivalent to 26% of the target.
For the president of ABMES, Janguiê Diniz, Fies' performance in 2018 was a failure. “It was the worst scenario since Fies was instituted,” said Diniz. “The program, which was supposed to be social, turned into a financial and fiscal program. This is our biggest criticism.”
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Fies has new rules since the beginning of the year. In the modality in which financing is offered by the banking institution, with an interest rate determined by the bank itself, 500 vacancies were filled out of a total of 210 thousand. As for the government funding model, which is for the rest of the vacancies, the utilization rate was 82.1%.
In a note, the Ministry of Education (MEC) says that it is possible to analyze only Fies data with government funding. “Considering that the Fies 2018 contracting cycle has not yet ended, the performance observed is already higher than that observed in previous years (62.6% in 2016 and 78.2% in 2017)”.
According to the MEC, the new modalities have different characteristics from the previous Fies, which prevents comparisons.
In Janguiiê Diniz's opinion, the system's main bottleneck is the non-financing of the cost of courses in its in full, despite the fact that the government has established a minimum funding percentage of 50% for the chosen course.
For him, another controversial point is that 60% of vacancies are allocated to priority courses (health, engineering and teaching). “This is not always in line with the job market,” said Janguiê. The strict rules required by banks were also cited: “The bank treats student loans like any other line of credit.”
A survey carried out by the entity with the Fies target audience reveals that, for 51% of those interested, access to the federal government program became more difficult in 2018. The survey also showed that 40% of respondents are unable to complete a degree without a scholarship or student financing. For 94% of students, it is the responsibility of the federal government to provide public policies for access to higher education.
Faced with the difficulties faced with the Fies, 48% of respondents answered that they prefer to obtain a scholarship or discount directly from the college; 22% who opt for Fies and 24% who have no preference or would consider any of the options. For 6%, private financing would be the first choice.
In a note, the MEC points out that the Fies reform respects the determination of the Federal Court of Auditors to seek a reduction in the dependence of the program on National Treasury resources and ensure financial sustainability and governance of the program. The objective is to “enable a broader policy of access to higher education, which is effective and better serves the student”, says the note.
The note responds to criticism of Fies with private financing, saying that “it is a financing modality still in development”. development, with high growth potential and which has been supported by MEC and financial institutions participants. For the year 2019, the strengthening of the modality is expected, with the entry of two more P-Fies financing banks”.
Janguiê Diniz informed that he will meet in the first half of December with the president-elect Jair Bolsonaro to discuss new proposals for Fies. According to the president ABMES, the objective is to ask the government to finance 100% of the monthly fees of all students and to include the modality of distance learning. Another idea is for educational institutions to offer “substantial and everlasting” discounts, ranging from 20% to 30% of the cost of the course.
In Diniz's opinion, the strict rules imposed by the banks also have to be reviewed. The idea is that the student who has 100% of the financing starts paying the debt amortization installments during the course. The information is from Agência Brasil.