Brazil Supreme Court sets deadline for 1% FIES debt discount for health workers

The First Chamber of Brazil's Superior Tribunal de Justiça (STJ) has taken two special appeals under repetitive procedure to decide the final date for granting a 1% discount on the outstanding balance of the Fundo de Financiamento Estudantil (FIES) to health professionals who worked in the Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) during the COVID‑19 pandemic. The court must determine whether the deadline is 31 December 2020, the end of the public calamity decree, or 22 May 2022, when the Ministry of Health declared the end of the national health emergency.

The STJ suspended all pending cases on the same issue, noting that roughly 2,000 related cases have already been judged in the regional federal courts and that more than 11,000 processes involving FIES contracts are currently pending nationwide. The ruling aims to standardise the interpretation of the discount provision across the country, providing legal certainty for the affected health workers.