Brazil education reports show racial equity gains amid teacher shortage

Recent data from the 2026 Brazilian Basic Education Yearbook and reports from the Ministry of Education highlight a complex landscape of progress and systemic challenges in the country's school system.

On one hand, there are significant advancements in racial equity. The percentage of municipal school networks offering training and workshops on racial equity rose from 48.1% in 2024 to 69.2% in 2026. This progress is linked to the implementation of the National Policy for Equity, Ethnic-Racial Relations, and Quilombola School Education (Pneerq), which enforces the mandatory teaching of Afro-Brazilian and indigenous history.

However, the education sector faces a critical crisis regarding teacher training and student performance. The Yearbook reveals a sharp decline in the attractiveness of teaching careers; only 14.7% of students entering higher education for teaching degrees were among the top 20% of performers in the Enem exam in 2024, a significant drop from 22% in 2020. This contrasts sharply with fields like Medicine, where 81.2% of entrants are top performers.

Furthermore, while access to early childhood education has reached record levels, deep inequalities persist. Disparities in enrollment and completion rates remain heavily influenced by family income and race, with white and yellow students showing higher completion rates in secondary education compared to Black, mixed-race, and indigenous students.