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State government launches more than 18 thousand free distance education places in partnership with the the Ministry of Education (MEC): for 2024. There are undergraduate and postgraduate vacancies in various institutions. The initiative democratizes access to higher education and strengthens teacher training. Don't miss this opportunity to attend college at no cost!
Do you dream of attending college without paying anything? O Government of Ceará announced the expansion of access to higher education with 18.430 new places for distance learning courses.
In partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Open University of Brazil (UAB) program, the state intends to further democratize higher education.
The launch was made this Friday (12). According to Governor Elmano de Freitas, the objective is to guarantee free public higher education for all Ceará residents.
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“Our dream is for all municipalities to have some higher education course, but this is a process. We are making important investments in our universities, building campuses in several municipalities, but we also want to expand with distance learning”, he highlighted.
Partnerships that Transform
The initiative, which covers 25 new municipalities, is the result of a partnership between the Government of Ceará and the MEC, through the UAB program, created in 2006. UAB aims not only to democratize access to higher education, but also to train teachers and professionals for basic education.
According to the governor, decentralization is crucial for the transition of students from basic to higher education. In 2023, 22.531 young people from public schools in Ceará entered higher education. In 2024, 18.430 new distance learning places will be offered, 11.090 of which will be undergraduate and 7.010 postgraduate.
Support Centers and Institutions Involved
Twenty-five new in-person support hubs will be implemented, reaching 65 cities. The participating institutions are: State University of Ceará (Uece), State University of Vale do Acaraú (UVA), Regional University of Cariri (Urca), Federal Institute of Ceará (IFCE), Federal University of Cariri (UFCA) and University of Integration International of Afro-Brazilian Lusofonia (Unilab).
Sandra Monteiro, Secretary of Science, Technology and Higher Education (Secitece), highlighted that Ceará is a pioneer in this joint action. “The face-to-face operation of the courses may take place in university units, in CVTs [Centro de Vocação Tecnológica] and in partner locations of the Ceará Department of Education”, he explained.
Distribution of Vacancies
Uece leads the offer with 6.560 vacancies. The distribution of other vacancies is as follows:
| Institution | Jobs |
|---|---|
| uece | 6.560 |
| UVA | 3.210 |
| Get on | 1.530 |
| IFCE | 2.700 |
| UFCA | 2.300 |
| unilab | 2.130 |
| Total | 18.430 |
Hidelbrando Soares, rector of Uece, celebrated the historic moment. “We are launching the largest number of vacancies for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Ceará in the distance learning modality. Uece consolidates itself as the largest public provider of distance higher education in the state”, he celebrated.
Luiz Lira, general coordinator of Distance Learning Course Coordination at Capes, highlighted the importance of progress in Ceará. “40 thousand students have already been trained in the UAB System in Ceará. With an additional 18.430 places, we have almost 60 thousand students. Nationally, we promoted an expansion to more than 290 thousand places, reaching almost 450 thousand students in the UAB System”, he highlighted.
Course Details
UAB's EAD undergraduate courses are carried out through virtual platforms with synchronous and asynchronous activities. To date, no information about open registrations has been released.
Important to note that there is a minimum requirement of 30% of the workload for face-to-face activities and that support centers are essential for face-to-face pedagogical activities, where students have access to tutors, teachers, libraries and laboratories.
Do you think distance learning can completely replace in-person teaching?
Yes
Distance learning is not just a way to solve the current education problem, but a modality that will soon be the main option. It is very practical, economical and allows us to see and review a given subject as many times as we want. In my opinion, it will be an improved modality with the use of AI and will place us in a not-so-distant future in the first world.
Distance Learning is an excellent option for those who work, especially if the platform is very explanatory, everything has to be correct and in line with what you study, and the person feels more at ease, right?