🧑‍🏫 Brazil’s plan to fix teacher shortages

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the Brazil Society newsletter! This week, we dive into the chronic shortage of qualified teachers in Brazil’s basic education system, and examine the potential — and limitations — of new federal policies designed to tackle the crisis.

If you have any questions about this newsletter, or topics you’d like to see covered in future issues, you can reach me at [email protected]

Can Brazil fix its teacher crisis? New program is a good move but far from enough

The quality of Brazil’s basic public education remains one of the largest barriers to the country’s development. Solving this issue is challenging, even at the foundational level: recruiting and retaining teachers. The country is already grappling with a significant teacher shortage.

According to researchers from INEP, the federal agency responsible for evaluating Brazil’s education system, “there is no time to lose.” They warn that without incentives to pursue teaching careers, “this ‘blackout’ of teachers could worsen.”

Data from INEP shows a slight improvement in teacher qualifications over the past decade, but critical shortages persist, particularly in Brazil’s North and Northeast. In the final years of elementary school, fewer than 48% of teachers in these regions hold higher education degrees relevant to the subjects they teach.

In response to this crisis, the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva government launched the More Teachers program earlier this year, designed to encourage teacher training and increase the presence of educators in municipalities with the greatest shortages.

Despite the praise the program’s launch received, many education unions and advocacy organizations say it does not go far enough to address the scale of the teacher shortage.

Making teaching attractive

The name More Teachers is a nod to the More Doctors initiative, launched in 2013 to ensure the presence of medical professionals in Brazil’s remote regions. More Teachers builds on this model with five key components.

Two of these are scholarships: BRL 2,100 (USD 356) a month for two years for teachers who commit to working in remote municipalities with the greatest need while pursuing a government-sponsored postgraduate degree; and BRL 1,050 for high-performing students in the ENEM national university entrance exam who choose teacher training as their field of study, paid monthly for the full duration of their teaching course. 

A portion of the BRL 1,050 grant is withheld and paid out only if recipients work as public school teachers within five years of graduation. Similar models are already in place in other South American countries such as Chile, Ecuador and Colombia.

Beyond the scholarships, the program introduces a National Teaching Exam for hiring public school teachers, aiming to reduce recruitment costs for local governments and standardize selection criteria. The government hopes to carry out the first exam in November. 

Additionally, the government will maintain a centralized platform offering initial and continuing education courses for teachers, alongside personal benefits such as fee-free credit cards from federal banks, discounts on hotels and the potential for receiving laptops.

University professors’ union ANDES criticized the standardized exam, arguing that it disregards regional needs and cultural specificities. The union also dismissed the course platform as insufficient without workload reductions or salary incentives to encourage teachers to deepen their training.

In contrast, advocacy group Todos Pela Educação supports the standardized test and calls for broad adoption by state and municipal education systems. While acknowledging that additional measures — such as revising the evaluation and regulation of undergraduate programs — are necessary, the organization described the government’s announcements as “an important step toward valuing teachers and improving education.”

Fundamental issues

While acknowledging the federal government’s efforts, education experts argue that the More Teachers program fails to address the core issues that have historically undermined the teaching profession’s appeal: low wages, limited career advancement opportunities, heavy workloads and poor school working conditions.

Compounding these challenges, the political rise of the far right over the past decade has fostered a climate of hostility toward educators. Teachers are frequently labeled as “left-leaning indoctrinators” by political leaders in this sector, which has further eroded their standing.

The situation of school teachers in Brazil is dire. Despite a modest minimum wage of approximately BRL 4,900 (USD 830), state and municipal governments often fail to comply with the law, with salary adjustments frequently delayed or skipped altogether.

Temporary hiring has surged in recent years, allowing local governments to sidestep labor obligations and pension costs, exacerbating job insecurity for educators.

The More Teachers program addresses none of these structural issues.

Furthermore, a 2022 study from the Semesp Institute shows a clear upward trend in the average age of teachers, with the number of teachers at the beginning of their careers (up to 24 years old) dropping by half between 2009 and 2021. Meanwhile, those aged 50 and over, and presumably close to retirement, doubled in the same period.  

“The Education Ministry has been opting for individual bonus policies instead of broader structural reforms,” said Fernando Cássio, a professor at the University of São Paulo’s education faculty, in a recent interview. 

He noted that while the measures may attract more students to teaching programs — a critical short-term goal — they fall short of creating the conditions needed to retain teachers in the profession over the long term.

“This is the beginning of a strategy aimed at attracting new teachers and strengthening, recognizing and valuing those already in the basic education system,” said Education Minister Camilo Santana during the program’s launch.

Other stories we’re following

🏜️ The northeastern state of Pernambuco has declared a state of emergency in 117 municipalities as reservoirs reach critical lows amid a prolonged drought. Key water sources for the state capital and surrounding areas operate at less than 10% capacity.

✊ Indigenous groups have occupied the Pará state education department headquarters in protest against legislation to make classes exclusively remote in isolated areas of the Amazon. Protesters have reportedly taken a federal government official hostage.

🎞️ “I’m Still Here” racked up three Oscar nominations: Best Actress (Fernanda Torres), Best International Feature Film and, unexpectedly, Best Picture. It is the first time that a Brazilian movie has been nominated for the Academy Awards’ most prestigious honor.

• The film’s plot revolves around the arrest and disappearance of Congressman Rubens Paiva during the military dictatorship. Officials on Thursday altered Paiva’s death certificate to reflect the state violence he suffered.