International assessments consistently show that Brazilian education has fallen below expected standards, with students exhibiting low performance in reading, mathematics, and sciences.

It’s not a recent issue that Brazilian education has been yielding subpar results in international rankings. The latest data from PISA (Program for International Student Assessment), a test administered in 81 countries to evaluate students’ performance in mathematics, reading, and sciences, raises yet another alarm for the country.

Although the research indicates that between 2018 and 2022, the indices remained stable, Brazil recorded scores much below the averages reported by OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. In other words, Brazilian students face difficulties in all three evaluated areas, affecting the entire society.

This is problematic because these students will encounter more challenges in pursuing higher education, making it more complicated to enter the job market and achieve a decent income.

Student Challenges

PISA results reveal a slight decline in Brazil’s scores, with mathematics being the most affected, dropping from 384 to 379 between 2018 and 2022. This score falls below the global average of 489.

Furthermore, the results also indicate that 70% of Brazilian students perform below the basic level in mathematics for their age. According to the assessment, these adolescents lack the proficiency required to “fully participate in society,” meaning they struggle to apply mathematical concepts to solve everyday problems.

Reading performance decreased from 413 points in 2018 to 410 in 2022, compared to the OECD average of 487. Additionally, half of Brazilian students are below the basic level in reading, indicating difficulties in identifying explicit information in a text, for example.

Explaining the Poor Results in Brazilian Education

Education experts believe that the PISA results reflect structural problems in Brazilian reality, such as the inadequate infrastructure of educational institutions in the country. Data from IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) show that 47% of Brazilian schools lack basic sanitation, not to mention spaces like green areas, sports courts, science labs, and internet access.

The lack of infrastructure is directly linked to poor academic performance and exacerbates social inequalities. The solution is evident: increasing investment in school infrastructure. However, this requires efforts from governments, who manage public institutions.

To overcome this challenge, it is essential to create attractive strategies for students and closely monitor those facing learning difficulties during this phase.

Support from the Third Sector

To address this issue, the Third Sector can support school management actions. Organizations play a crucial role in monitoring and encouraging learning. At the Ramacrisna Institute, the Ramacrisna Educational Support Center (CAER) offers various workshops for children and adolescents during school hours, focusing on their holistic development.

In this project, children receive daily lunch and snacks, school supplies, and clothing. The goal is to encourage them to stay consistent in school, reducing dropout rates and child labor. To participate in CAER, children must be enrolled in and attending public schools. As a result, the educational level of children and adolescents has increased.

At CAER, students have access to the Digital Alphabet Board. The equipment allows students to become familiar with written language by fitting colored blocks into a large electronic panel. As the blocks are placed, the letters are recognized by special software and appear on the computer screen. This way, children engage in interactive activities, learning to recognize the alphabet, build words, find meanings, discover accents, and interpret texts.

The Board assists students in Portuguese and mathematics, as well as activities that include fables, proverbs, nursery rhymes, tongue twisters, among others. Thus, with accelerated literacy challenges, children rebuild their self-esteem and expand the learning process.

Another piece of equipment is the Digital Blackboard, connected to the internet. Through it, students learn Portuguese and mathematics in a playful and dynamic way.

CAER also offers sports activities such as judo and chess, promoting physical activity and leisure, providing health and well-being, and favoring cognitive and motor development.

The Ramacrisna Institute also has a library of nearly 200m² with a collection of over 9,000 books for children, young adults, and adults. In addition to serving the Institute’s project participants, employees, and the community, young people from 12 municipalities in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte can benefit from the library’s books.

It is worth noting that the library also has various itinerant reading incentive projects. Besides using the entire Institute’s space, encouraging enjoyable, comfortable, and pleasurable reading in gardens, lawns, under trees, or in kiosks.

Inside the space, there are storytelling sessions and other activities that combine fun and reading. Additionally, in the Ludoteca, students find various board games to stimulate various reader skills and competencies, besides providing moments of socialization and interaction among them.

Despite most activities being focused on children, the library contains books for all ages, providing benefits for all stages of education.

These are just a few projects that have already transformed the educational reality in Betim, where the Ramacrisna headquarters is located. Get to know our work and do your part to improve Brazilian education.