Lula signs decree that expands access for quota holders to Prouni with new selection rule in 2026

President Luiz Inácio Lula of Silva signed, last Tuesday, March 31, a new decree that significantly changes the operation of Programa Universidade to Todos (Prouni) throughout the national territory. The measure establishes that candidates with a quota profile will start to compete for scholarships first in the broad competition modality, migrating to the reserved places only if they do not obtain a sufficient score in the first stage. Esta amendment aims to correct a historical distortion that limited the admission of students from public schools and specific racial groups by attaching their grades only to the reserved portions of the program.

The new rule comes into force immediately and should impact selection processes carried out from the second semester of this academic year. Segundo o Ministério da Educação, the central objective is to ensure that quotas function as supplementary protection and not as a ceiling that prevents students with high academic performance from accessing general places. With the signing of the document in Brasília, the federal government seeks to harmonize Prouni with the changes already recently implemented in Lei of Cotas, which governs entry into federal universities and technological institutes.

Historically, Prouni required the candidate to make an exclusionary choice at the time of registration, which often resulted in higher cut-off scores within quotas than in broad competition. Especialistas in education point out that this configuration ended up harming precisely the public that the program intended to protect, generating disadvantageous internal competition. Agora, the computerized system of Ministério of Educação will automatically rearrange the names, always prioritizing the occupation of highly competitive vacancies by those who have the qualifications for that purpose, regardless of their social or racial status.

How the new classification criteria works

The main technical change occurs in the processing of data during the program’s regular calls, where the score of Exame Nacional of Ensino Médio (Enem) continues to be the sovereign selection criterion. The system will now first process the general list of applicants for each course and shift, filling the vacancies intended for the broad public with the best-scoring candidates, including those who declared themselves quota holders. Somente After filling these vacancies, the system will check who, among the remaining quota beneficiaries, has the qualification to occupy the seats reserved by law.

This dynamic ensures that low-income students or students from public schools do not “use up” the quota place if their grade is enough to win the general competition. The federal government argues that this strategy mathematically expands the real offer, as it frees up vacancies reserved for candidates with slightly lower scores, who would previously be left out of the system. The expectation is that the filling of full and partial scholarships will be more efficient, reducing the number of unfilled places that tend to be left in high-demand courses due to errors in registration strategy.

Program eligibility and maintenance criteria

Despite changes in the classification method, the basic requirements to participate in the program remain linked to academic performance and monthly per capita family income. The candidate must have completed at least one of the last two editions of Enem and reached the minimum average required, in addition to not having completed the essay to zero. The socioeconomic criteria for scholarships continue to be divided between:

• Full scholarships: Destinadas for candidates with a gross monthly family income of up to one and a half minimum wages per person.
• Partial scholarships (50%): Voltadas for those whose gross monthly family income is up to three minimum wages per person.
• School profile: You must have completed high school at a public or private school with a full or partial scholarship.
• Specific audience: Pessoas with disabilities and public school teachers working as teachers also have specific access rules.

Maintaining these rules ensures that the program continues to focus on the democratization of higher education for the population that depends on assistance to pay for tuition fees at private institutions. Ministério from Educação reinforced that there will be no reduction in the total number of scholarships offered, but rather a technical redistribution that favors meritocracy within socially vulnerable groups.

Reactions and expectations for the next selection process

Representatives of student organizations and managers of higher education institutions received the news as a necessary advance for equity in the educational system. The measure is seen as a way of valuing the individual effort of the quota student, allowing them to occupy prominent spaces without depending exclusively on the legal reserve. Além Furthermore, the change simplifies the user’s journey on the registration portal, as they will no longer need to monitor multiple cut-off scores to decide in which modality their chances are greater.

Private institutions, in turn, must adapt their academic registration systems to accept this new automated classification coming from the federal government. The expectation is that the notices for the second half of 2026 will already provide the technical details of this migration of vacancies, guiding candidates on how to proceed when choosing course options. The federal government plans to carry out information campaigns to explain that the candidate does not need to do anything different when registering, as the system’s intelligence will make the allocation in the best possible way.

History of adjustments to inclusion policies

The decree signed this week is part of a broader package of reforms that Ministério of Educação has been designing to make access to higher education more fluid and less bureaucratic. Nos In recent years, Prouni has undergone several updates, including allowing students who paid tuition at private schools without a scholarship to also compete, as long as they met the income criteria. Essa Previous flexibility generated debates, but the current government is now focusing on strengthening the program’s original base, which are students in the public school system.

The convergence between the rules of Sisu and Prouni is a long-standing desire of public policy experts, aiming to create a single system of understanding about what it means to be a quota holder in Brasil. By unifying the understanding that the quota is a subsidiary and non-restrictive right, the country moves towards international models of affirmative action that have already been successful in other countries. Monitoring this year’s data will be essential to assess whether the overall cutoff score will suffer significant variations with the mass entry of quota candidates into the main race.

Technical details about subscription and validity

The solemn act of signing took place at Palácio of Planalto with the presence of ministers and representatives of social movements linked to education and civil rights. The text of the decree details that the classification will take place in a staggered manner, first respecting the disability criteria and then the color, race and ethnicity criteria, according to the student’s self-declaration. Caso If a candidate falls into more than one reservation category, the system will apply the rule that is most beneficial for their immediate approval in the chosen course.

The validity of the decree is immediate from its publication on Diário Oficial of União, which must occur in the early hours of the next business day. Não There is a provision for retroactivity for selection processes that have already ended or for students who are already attending college with scholarships obtained in previous years. Para veterans, the semester renewal rules remain the same, requiring a minimum academic achievement of 75% in the subjects taken to maintain the financial benefit.

Impacts on the private higher education network

Private universities closely monitor the movement, as Prouni is one of the main drivers of vacant vacancies in the Brazilian private sector. With the possibility of a fairer and more efficient selection, the tendency is for the profile of scholarship students to be even more qualified, increasing the level of discussions in the classroom and academic retention rates. The private sector emphasizes that clarity in selection rules helps to avoid legalizations that often block the start of classes for many students across the country.

Another highlighted point is the reduction of bureaucracy at the time of enrollment, as automatic classification by the federal system provides greater legal security for college secretariats. Antes, there were many doubts about how to proceed when a quota student had a grade for the general vacancy, which led to ambiguous interpretations of local notices. With standardization via presidential decree, the rite becomes unique for all institutions participating in the program, regardless of the state or region where they are located.

Transparency and social control of the program

The federal government also promised to improve transparency tools so that society can monitor the filling of these vacancies in real time during the registration period. Novos Data panels must be launched to show how many students entered via broad competition even though they had a quota holder profile, allowing a deeper sociological analysis of the effectiveness of the public education network. Social control is seen as essential to prevent fraud and ensure that the benefit effectively reaches those who need it most.

In addition to electronic monitoring, Educação will reinforce the guidelines for institutions’ hetero-identification committees, which are responsible for validating the self-declaration of black, brown and indigenous candidates. The new decree reinforces that the change in the classification order does not exclude the need for rigorous proof of socioeconomic documents and phenotypic characteristics when applicable. The security of the selection process continues to be a priority to prevent misuse of purpose from compromising the credibility of the program that has already included millions of Brazilians in higher education.

Planning for the future of higher education

Ministério from Educação indicates that this adjustment to Prouni is just one step in a medium-term plan to revitalize student financing to Brasil, which also includes Fies. The idea is to create an ecosystem where students can transition between different forms of aid in a more intelligent way that is coordinated with their reality financial. The strengthening of Prouni via decree is a sign that the government prioritizes direct investment in already existing vacancies in the private system to accelerate the training of qualified professionals.

With the economy showing signs of stabilization, the government believes that expanding access to undergraduate studies will have positive impacts on the job market over a four to five year horizon. The training of new bachelors, graduates and technologists from the most popular sectors of society is seen as a strategic investment for national development. The focus on correcting technical distortions in quotas demonstrates a concern with the efficiency of public management and social justice in the distribution of federal resources allocated to education.