Access of blacks to high school is ten years late – 06/01/2023 – Education

Only 7 out of 10 black or brown teenagers aged between 15 and 17 attend or have completed high school in the country. The numbers show that, in 2022, the percentage of young black people with access to education at the right age reached a level similar to that of white students ten years earlier.

This is what a survey by Todos Pela Educação based on data from the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) from 2012 to 2022 points out.

During this period, the proportion of whites aged 15 to 17 who were in high school or had already completed this stage increased from 73% to 82.1%. Among young blacks, the rate increased from 52.8% to 72.3%, and among browns, it increased from 57.4% to 73.5%.

“Despite the advances, ethnic-racial inequality still permeates the entire educational system in Brazil. The numbers reveal the result of a cycle of exclusion of black and brown young people that, in the educational context, is also determined by decades of absence of policies aimed at to equity in ethnic-racial relations,” says Gabriel Corrêa, director of public policies at Todos Pela Educação.

The data also show that 61% of 19-year-old black youths completed high school in 2022 in the country, almost double the number registered ten years ago (32.1%).

Even so, the rate is lower than that of young whites who had completed high school in 2012, which was 62% and increased to 75.3% ten years later.

“By leaving behind a huge contingent of students, educational policies do not achieve their purpose of promoting quality education for all. The data demonstrate the urgent need for actions aimed at racial equity, which will only be effective if there is real commitment from political leaders and public managers”, concludes Corrêa.