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Higher education legislation and the privatization of education in Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the trajectory of legislation related to higher education in Brazil and its contributions to the privatization of education, in addition to describing the leading business groups in the field of higher education in the country. For this, an exploratory study of documentary analysis of the legislation and online documents was carried out and published between 1961 and 2023. Since the 1960s, a set of 29 normative acts (laws, bills, decrees, ordinances and provisional measures) related to education have been issued. Over the years, all Brazilian governments have implemented acts that favored the privatization process and the emergence of large economic education conglomerates. The intense privatization of higher education is closely related to the trajectory of normative instruments issued by different governments. Legislation shaped the country’s educational system and allowed the flexibility of the processes of creation and expansion of institutions, courses and vacancies. Therefore, large business groups have emerged in the field of education, with growing financial capital working in all areas of training and, in some cases, even specializing in health education.

Keywords
legislation; privatization; higher education institutions, private sector

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