Affirmative Actions in Public Higher Education in Brazil

In higher education in Brazil, one of the biggest challenges is the inclusion of groups historically excluded from this educational level, especially when we analyze the presence of the black population, notably excluded from this educational level throughout the 20th century. Florestan Fernandes and Roger Bastide showed this process, within the scope of UNESCO studies, in the early 1950s, that is, many black people were not accepted in schools or higher education. In that context, there were initiatives led by black, unofficial organizations, seeking to overcome the segregation of the Brazilian black population. However, these organizations did not always have lasting success, given racial inequalities, especially in higher education.

In public higher education, generally considered to be of better quality, Brazil has experienced a significant change in the last two decades, with the adoption of affirmative action policies, above all, the reservation of places for the black population, indigenous people, people with disabilities, among other historically excluded groups.

Based on data from the Higher Education Census (CES), produced by INEP, an official body of the Federal Government of Brazil, research was carried out and the inclusion processes of black people were analyzed, such as access, permanence and trajectory during higher education courses. graduation from 2013 to 2023 from Brazilian public universities (federal and state).

The data has shown that, following the reservation of vacancies for black people in 2001, the number of black people at this educational level significantly increased, especially following the Quota Law in 2012. The (CES) reveals that, in the last year, 51% of quota students in the federal network completed the course, the rate among non-quota students was 41%. The research, based on quantitative methodology, aims to analyze the trajectories of black students in Brazilian public higher education institutions (IES).