EXPANSION AND INTERIORIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN BRAZIL - A CASE STUDY IN MINAS GERAIS

Abstract

The process of internalization of Federal Universities in Brazil contributed significantly to the democratizate the access to federal public higher education. However, the expansion is marked, in many situations, by precariousness in its campi’s infrastructure and by political and economic disputes that end up hindering the consolidation of many institutions. This qualitative study aimed to investigate the trajectory of the implementation of the Patos de Minas campus of the Federal University of Uberlândia through documentary analysis of news about the implementation process and minutes of the University, Director and Graduation Councils’ meetings. The research arose from the need to broaden the understanding of one of the causalities involved in the phenomenon of dropout on campus: the troubled history of the construction of its infrastructure, which, after 11 years, has not yet been implemented. It was possible to identify that, given the expectations and needs when entering a public university, the students abandoned the course due to the precarious conditions offered at that time. These factors places de Patos de Minas campus as an important actor to be considered in the study of evasion.