Brazil Cooks The Numbers After Betting Big On Study Abroad Program

By Sabine Righetti and Tai Nalon. A probe finds Dilma's government taking shortcuts to achieving competitiveness for the country. At the center of President Dilma Rousseff's education policy is a plan to send 101,000 students abroad by 2015. Launched in 2011, the Science Without Borders program selects candidates and covers school fees and living costs for them to study in undergraduate programs abroad, with the long-term goal of increasing the nation's competitiveness and entrepreneurship. Brazilian universities submit their top students for eligibility. Out of the 101,000 scholarships, 75,000 are paid for by the government and the rest by the private sector.
However, the goal of 101,000 students is considered unrealistic by many, and indeed the program has been having a hard time finding enough eligible students. The department within the Brazilian Ministry of Education devoted to the evaluation and expansion of higher education in Brazil – Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) – is one of the agencies involved in selecting students for the program. Read more...