Brazil’s search for talented young mathematicians

Brazil has one of the most unequal societies in the world. In a 2018 review of the country—entitled “A broken social elevator”—the OECD pointed to the fact that six in ten Brazilians doubt that personal effort or study is enough to elevate one from poverty to a comfortable standard of life. It was found that, in Brazil, real social mobility can take up to nine generations, far more than the OECD average of five. The international organization suggested that social mobility could be fostered if Brazil improves the efficiency of its public spending. The review recommended that education spending be shifted from the tertiary level to pre-primary, primary and secondary levels. Vocational education should also be extended to adults, particularly focusing on the unemployed.

Called to Congress to explain why universities should limit their so-called “discretionary spending” this year, Education Minister Abraham Weintraub showed a series of charts illustrating what he called historic problems with education in Brazil. He said that kids with educated parents have better academic results than those whose parents are functional illiterates.

Brazil’s mathletes

But, it’s not all doom and gloom. Brazil has several initiatives aimed at finding talented students and stimulating their interests. The Brazilian Olympiad in Mathematics for Public and Private Schools (OBMEP) simultaneously tested more than 18 million young students last week, in what is thought to be the largest standardized education test in the world. The OBMEP aims to identify young kids and teens with a natural aptitude for math and encourage them to pursue further study in areas of technology and the exact sciences.

An initiative of the Brazilian Applied and Pure Math Institute (IMPA), with support from the Brazilian Math Society (SBM), OBMEP is funded by the...