From diploma to default: a study on the indebtedness of student financing beneficiaries

Abstract

The financialization of social policies corresponds to the intertwining between the interests of globalized financial capitalism and the role of public authorities in the provision of goods and services. In Brazil, the financialization of educational policies led the federal government to create programs to massively offer places in private higher education, which are materialized through the transfer of public resources to private educational institutions. This article aims to analyze the relationship between the Student Financing Fund (Fies) and the indebtedness of students who entered higher education from this program. To this end, an exploratory research was carried out based on the analysis of secondary data (INEP, FNDE, IBGE, PNAD-Continua, CNC, and others), which deal with Fies and the conditions of indebtedness and market participation of Fies beneficiaries. With the research, it became possible to identify that Fies, as a financialized public policy, prioritizes the interests of globalized capitalism, especially with regard to maximum shareholder value and the diversification of public-private partnerships. The State contributes to the expansion of access to credit for the low-income population and the transfer of public resources to private HEIs. The student, in turn, despite having conquered the dream of completing graduation with the hope of acquiring better living conditions, bears the burden of financialized public policies, substantiated by growing indebtedness rates.