Eligible students for the Pé-de-Meia Licenciaturas program must complete their registration by March 30, 2025, to qualify for the first installment of their scholarship, which supports new teachers in Brazil.
The Pé-de-Meia Licenciaturas initiative, part of the Ministry of Education (MEC) program known as Mais Professores para o Brasil, aims to promote teacher training and combat the shortage of qualified professionals in basic education.
Students approved through the Unified Selection System (Sisu), the University for All Program (Prouni), or the Student Financing Fund (Fies) must have achieved a minimum score of 650 in the National High School Exam (Enem) 2024.
Successful candidates will receive monthly financial support of R$1,050 throughout their undergraduate degree, with R$700 available for immediate withdrawal. The remaining R$350 will be deposited in a savings account for future withdrawal after the graduate begins working in the public education system.
As of now, MEC has made available up to 12,000 scholarships for the 2025 academic year, emphasizing its commitment to improving the quality of teacher training and retention.
To participate, students must register on the Freire Platform by March 30. In case of missing this deadline, candidates who apply later, such as those on the Prouni waiting list, will only receive their first scholarship installment at a later date.
According to the guidelines, students can still utilize their CPF (individual taxpayer identification number) until they register formally at their higher education institution.
The deadline for the final results will be April 14, 2025, allowing for any appeals from April 5 to April 9. The scholarship payments are scheduled to commence on May 1, 2025.
The importance of this initiative cannot be understated. Teacher shortages are a pressing issue, with statistics showing that only about 3% of teenagers express interest in pursuing teaching careers, a trend highlighted in the PISA 2015 report. Moreover, dropout rates in education courses can be alarmingly high, with reported figures around 53% in pedagogy and as steep as 73% in physics, as noted by the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research.
It is crucial to tackle these barriers through financial support, and the Pé-de-Meia program does precisely that by offering meaningful incentives to attract and maintain future teaching talent.
The measures introduced under the Mais Professores para o Brasil initiative are designed not only to motivate students financially but also to ensure that they engage in the essential work of educating Brazil’s youth. This program comes as a relief for many students who may be facing financial hardships, offering them a pathway to become educators in a country that desperately needs them.
As the registration deadline approaches, eligible candidates are urged to finalize their applications. Having already seen a keen interest, with over 12,473 students scored above 650 on the Enem 2024 through Sisu, the program is a sign of potential change in the educational landscape. The government hopes to influence the future of education in Brazil with such initiatives, addressing the supply shortage of qualified teachers essential for nurturing the country's young minds.
The urgency of completing the registration process cannot be overstated, as those who miss the deadline risk losing their chance at financial support.
