Readjustment in postgraduate scholarships guarantees permanence – 01/30/2024 – Education

Raised on the outskirts of Duque de Caxias (RJ), Loíse Lorena Santos, 28, did not imagine herself going to graduate school. Today, she is a doctoral candidate in social psychology at Uerj (State University of Rio de Janeiro).

The interest arose when she joined an academic project in which black psychology students offered therapeutic care to black and brown people, in 2018.

To maintain her activities, she signed up for the master’s selection and was approved for a scholarship from Capes (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) of R$1,500.

“Because of the university’s affirmative action for low-income students, the postgraduate program offers scholarships first to quota students. As I had entered based on income and race quotas, I was able to do so,” he says.

The benefit is available to students in stricto sensu programs (master’s or doctorate) at higher education institutions.

When signing up for her doctorate, it was Loíse’s CV that secured the grant, this time via broad competition.

Months later, she exchanged the scholarship for a higher value one, from Uerj, going from R$2,200 to R$4,300 per month.

The value is higher than that of scholarships granted by the federal government, even after the adjustment announced in February 2023, after ten years without review. The master’s degree went from R$1,500 to R$2,100. For a doctorate, from R$2,200 to R$3,100. In the postdoctoral period, the benefit went from R$4,100 to R$5,200.

In terms of comparison, the minimum wage went from R$622.73 in 2012 to R$678 in 2013, when the scholarships had been readjusted for the last time. In 2022, it reached R$1,212, while the scholarships remained the same.

“Most of the research is done by graduate students, but it’s not recognized as work. When I look at this issue, I think ‘man, that pay had to be a lot better,’ but I recognize that this adjustment has made a lot of difference'”, says Loíse.

Mercedes Bustamante, president of Capes, says that the adjustment is a recognition of the researchers.

“It has an important social component, in the sense of allowing more adequate living conditions. Scholarships also play an important role in the economy, especially in small municipalities.”

This is what happens to the master’s student in philosophy at UFSCar (Federal University of São Carlos) Natália da Silva, 38. About to finish her postgraduate course as a Capes scholarship holder, she is preparing to enter her doctorate in March.

Born in São Vicente, in the Baixada Santista Metropolitan Region, she finished high school in 1999, but did not have access to higher education until she was 28 years old. Since then, Natália has been able to count on scholarships to help her stay, a bandeijão voucher, and other resources to complete her studies.

For the coordinator of the Knowledge Observatory, Mayra Goulart, the adjustment demonstrates the government’s commitment to science and technology, but is insufficient. “With inflation, they were unable to reach [proporcionalmente] nowhere near the values ​​of the past”, he states.

On the other hand, she argues that financial issues should not be the only consideration when planning a career.

“The student who is in postgraduate studies must have a perspective of future earnings. I don’t believe in postgraduate studies as a place of enrichment. It is for those who want to produce knowledge”, she says.

Another change was the relaxation of rules for accruing benefits and paid activities.

Previously, for a student to be awarded scholarships offered by agencies such as Capes and CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development), they needed to be exclusively dedicated, that is, they could not accumulate the subsidy and a formal job.

With the review, in July last year, it is allowed to add activities, especially when the work is related to the research topic.

For Roberto Schaeffer, professor of energy economics at UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), the change can attract students and prevent dropouts, but has the disadvantage of taking away the focus of research.

“I am more in favor of this remuneration coming from research projects at the university associated with student work [em laboratórios, por exemplo] than a second job, because then neither of those things will be done well.”

Capes grants 103,200 scholarships to master’s, doctoral and post-doctoral students from public, community and private institutions in all states.

The PUC (Pontifical Catholic University) of São Paulo has around 1,100 scholarships from foundations such as Capes, CNPq and Fapesp, in addition to philanthropic scholarships subsidized by the São Paulo Foundation, which supports the institution. They are distributed among master’s and doctoral students from 25 academic programs.

According to professor Odair Furtado, assistant to the Dean of Postgraduate Studies at PUC-SP, every enrolled student can compete for scholarships from funding agencies at PUC.

“Generally, distribution is based on merit and the committee evaluates the quality of the project of interested students”, he states. As an inclusion policy, 30% of available scholarships are allocated to students from ethnic-racial quotas (self-declared black, mixed race or indigenous).

For Furtado, postgraduate scholarships guarantee the country’s scientific independence and autonomy. “Brazil has not yet reached a percentage of doctors that is on par with the most productive countries in the scientific field. We have a long way to go and the scholarship is vital to building our future.”