Private schools will have an average adjustment of 9% in 2024

Tuition

Forecast is to study at the Best School

Private school fees are expected to increase, on average, 9% in 2024, according to a survey carried out by Melhor Escola, a school search website in Brazil. In total, 979 schools from practically all states, with the exception of Roraima and Tocantins, responded to the questionnaire. There are institutions that will maintain the same value charged this year and there are also adjustments that reach 35% in relation to what was charged this year.

There is, by law, a maximum limit for the increase in the cost of private schools, in accordance with Law 9,870/1999, but schools must justify the increases to parents and guardians in a cost spreadsheet, even when this variation results from the introduction improvements in the didactic-pedagogical process.

“Although it may seem strange that the adjustment is greater than inflation, this is natural, due to the logic of the adjustment, which foresees both the inflationary adjustment and the level of investment that the school made throughout the year”,

explains the founding partner of Melhor Escola, Sergio Andrade.

According to Andrade, the country is now entering a phase of greater normality, after the pandemic period, which was reflected in costs. “We are coming out of a disruptive event, which was the pandemic. It is natural for the level of investment to vary more than in a more stable market context”he said.

When adjusting school fees, inflationary indices such as the Consumer Price Index (IPCA) and the General Price Index – Market (IGP-M) are taken into account. In addition, salary agreements signed with unions and salary adjustments for both teachers and other employees are considered, in addition to investments made in educational institutions.

Based on these and other data, such as the expected number of enrolled students, the annual fee is established, which cannot be changed throughout the entire academic year.

Different costs

According to the president of the National Federation of Private Schools (Fenep), Antônio Eugênio Cunha, the readjustments are different and vary from school to school because the contexts are different.

“It is important to clarify to the public that there is no magic number. Each school has its own identity, each one has a structure that works differently from the other. Some occupy rented physical spaces, others own them. Larger or smaller spaces. The number of classrooms and students are different, the equipment is different, therefore the operating costs are different”,

explains.

Cunha remembers that schools must be ready to explain to families the costs that will be incurred and that there is flexibility and different ways of charging.

“Each school has a plan, because we always work looking at the sustainability of the business and service to families. Schools offer different plans, there are schools that divide it into 13 installments, there are schools that if you have more than one family member enrolled, they give a discount, there are those that give a discount for a group of families, each one has a strategy. It is natural for the student’s father to go to the school and talk to the principals so that they can understand the process and how they can achieve some benefit”.

Consumer defense

According to guidelines from the Brazilian Institute for Consumer Protection (Idec), the fact that there is no maximum amount for the monthly fee adjustment does not prevent the increase from being contested. The guidance is for consumers to contest if they consider the adjustments abusive.

“Private schools and colleges have to justify the adjustment, they have to publicly present to the student and the school community a spreadsheet with the increase in expenses. You cannot readjust to make more profit, you have to show that there was an increase proportional to the expense”,

warns the director of Institutional Relations at Idec, Igor Britto.

Idec advises that those responsible try to reach an amicable resolution. They can also look for consumer protection entities, such as Procon, a consumer protection and defense authority.

“If they are injured, they can contact Procon. In Brazil, there is already a routine of notifying the school or college to present their spreadsheet, which, by law, they are obliged to present”.

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