Selection or Exclusion: difficult access to public educational institutions

Abstract

Educational inequality reaches alarming levels in Brazil. In higher education, it is notorious that public institutions are not easily accessed by the most economically vulnerable segment of the population. This study intends to demonstrate, through empirical research, that this inequality also occurs in the access to elementary and secondary public schools that stand out by their excellence or tradition. Our study focus on the admission exam held by the Pedro II School, a secondary education institution, in early 2007, when 87.14% of the vacancies were taken by candidates graduated in private institutions. We aimed to show that just because an institution is free of charge, that doesn't guarantee a truly public and equal access to everyone.