Good morning! Today, the pandemic caused school attendance to drop in key areas, compromising the education of millions. Data privacy rules loosened for small companies. Positive news for Brazil’s machinery industry.
How the pandemic affected Brazilian education
The government published the first findings of the new school census, and the data offers a glimpse at how devastating the pandemic has been for Brazilian education. While there are a few silver linings to cling on to, the picture is overwhelmingly bleak.
- The percentage of children and teenagers of school age attending classes dropped among those aged 5 to 13. Attendance went up for students aged 15 to 17, who were more equipped for the challenges of remote learning.
- Enrollment in private schools plunged from 8.8 to 8.1 million people between 2020 and last year, reflecting how the economic downturn caused by Covid left many families unable to afford tuition.
- But the biggest impact was on younger children. With school shutdowns (which lasted on average 279 days in 2021), the overall number of enrolled children in daycare and elementary establishments was down.
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