ブラジルの公立大学における“クォータ制”の導入に関する一考察

抄録

 The purpose of this article is to examine the implementation of social inclusion programs, in particular the quota system in public universities in Brazil.
 Since the late 1990s, there has been an impressive expansion of higher education institutions in Brazil. However, this expansion has not been enough to offset the unbalanced distribution of enrollment rates across ethnic and socio-economic groups at the top of the education pyramid: while the enrollment rate in higher education of 18-24 year olds has increased considerably from 7.1 percent in 1997 to 17.6 percent in 2011, the 9.1 percent enrollment rate of the population of African descent is still very low as compared to the 21 percent enrollment rate among people of Caucasian descent. Moreover, in spite of the fact that 87 percent of high school students attend public schools, 73 percent of the students enrolled in public universities are graduates from private institutions. Thus, access to the country’s prestigious public universities remains for the privileged few.
 Since 2001, due to the pressure of social movements, public universities have promoted social inclusion programs. At the federal level, a ‘Quota Law’ was finally enacted in August 2012, requiring federal universities to reserve 50 percent of the admission slots for students from public schools and low-income families as well as for students of self-declared pardo (mixed-race), African and indigenous descent. To comply with this law, the State of São Paulo in December 2012 also launched its own quota system proposal called PIMESP (Inclusion Program with Merit in Public Higher Education in São Paulo). This program not only reserves the socio-economic and racial quota as required by the federal law, but also stipulates that students selected from the public schools must attend two years of community college to be eligible to use the quota system at the state universities. Although PIMESP still needs to be approved by the University Council, it is almost certain that all São Paulo State Universities, including the renowned University of São Paulo, which has thus far been vehemently opposed to the quota system, will to a certain extent comply with this program.
 The introduction of a quota system in the elitist public universities remains a challenge. While some interpret it as a form of discrimination as it divides citizens into different groups with different rights, others celebrate it as a way of ensuring equity and as a step forward in the process of democratization of education and of Brazilian society as a whole. Proponents point out that the quotas will provide access to educational opportunities in the country’s top universities for the marginalized groups in society and that this can promote social mobility. It is still too early to assess the quota system’s impact on education and on society as a whole but it is certainly a first step to ensuring equity and expanding access to public higher education in Brazil.