The Pé-de-Meia Program: between tackling school dropout and the financialization of education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5212/PraxEduc.v.21.26329.041Abstract
This article analyzes the Pé-de-Meia [Nest egg] Program as a public policy aimed at tackling school dropout, situating it within the context of the capitalist system and examining its social dimension, possibilities, and limits in the face of the financialization of public education in Brazil. Established by Law no. 14,818/2024 and regulated by Decree no. 11,901/2024, the Program provides an education-linked financial incentive designed to support students’ school retention and completion. Drawing on Marx (2013), Marx and Engels (2021), Frigotto (2010), Arroyo (2004), Mészáros (2008), and Tonet (2005), the article argues that, under capitalism, education is oriented toward serving market interests and that the working class’s right to education is the result of ongoing struggles. It points out that the Program helps students remain in school; however, it is permeated by financialization, which transforms education from a social right into a commodity and a financial asset. Tackling school dropout requires an omnilateral education project aimed at social transformation and human emancipation.
Keywords: Pé-de-Meia Program. Public policy. School dropout. Financialization of education.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Práxis Educativa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal agree with the following terms:
a) Authors keep the copyrights and concede the right of its first publication to the magazine. The work piece must be simultaneously licensed on the Creative Commons Attribution License which allows the paper sharing, and preserves both the author identity and the right of first publication to this magazine.
b) Authors are authorized to assume additional contracts separately, to not-exclusively distribution of the paper version published in this magazine (e.g.: publish in institutional repository or as a book chapter), with the author identity recognition and its first publication in this magazine.
c) Authors are permitted and stimulated to publish and distribute their papers online (e.g.: in institutional repository or on their personal webpage), considering it can generate productive alterations, as well as increase the impact and the quotations of the published paper.
d) This journal provides public access to all its content, as this allows a greater visibility and reach of published articles and reviews. For more information on this approach, visit the Public Knowledge Project, a project that developed this system to improve the academic and public quality of the research, distributing OJS as well as other software to support the publication system of public access to academic sources.
e) The names and e-mail addresses on this site will be used exclusively for the purposes of the journal and are not available for other purposes.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
