Recent analysis of the Enamed exam results reveals that private medical students in Brazil have performed significantly worse than their public school peers. This disparity is seen in 85 out of 90 valid questions, which translates to 94% of the exam. The data, drawn from the microdata of the assessment conducted by the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC), also indicates that even with better socioeconomic profiles, private students did not outscore public students. Statistically, the scores were similar in the remaining five questions.

The findings underscore alarming trends within Brazil’s higher education system, particularly regarding the quality of education provided by private medical institutions. Of the 107 medical courses rated with scores of 1 and 2, deemed insufficient, 87 belong to private institutions, despite tuition fees reaching as high as 17 thousand reais. The exam was conducted for 350 courses, highlighting that many private institutions are failing to meet necessary educational standards while profiting from high tuition fees.

Further research indicates that socioeconomic factors play a crucial role in academic performance, where the wealthier the background of students, the greater their academic success tends to be. Studies using data from the Enade exam, which assesses the academic performance of college graduates, have also illustrated strong correlations between parental income and education levels and student outcomes, suggesting that the issues facing private institutions may be more systemic than isolated.