Only 4.7% of children of unschooled parents finish higher education in Brazil

In a country where some groups discuss and defend meritocracy, only 4.7% of the children of unschooled parents complete higher education. Data obtained by Estadão show that in a group of 100 people with family members with no schooling, 70 complete at most Elementary and Junior High School, and only between 4 and 5 (or 4.7%) complete higher education. The figures were raised by economist Paulo Tafner, founder and CEO of the Institute for Mobility and Social Development (IMDS). Tafner’s assessment is that the lack of social mobility in Brazil works as a kind of perpetuation of poverty. This happens, according to the economist, even with economic advances in general and income transfer programs. This means that in this large country, little has changed in relation to the difficulty that a child from a poor family has to rise to achieve better wages.