Contribuições do Programa Nacional de Assistência Estudantil na Educação Superior: uma avaliação da capacidade do auxílio moradia em garantir a permanência no IFCE Sobral

Abstract

The public policy evaluated in this work is the result of Decree No. 7,234 of July 19, 2010, also known as the National Student Assistance Policy (PNAES). The PNAES is analyzed here in the context of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceará (IFCE), on its campus in the city of Sobral. The general objective of the study is to evaluate the capacity of housing assistance, one of the components of the PNAES, in guaranteeing the permanence of higher education students in the institution. To this end, it seeks to contextualize education as a public policy, as well as Student Assistance, going beyond the historical perspective, and observing the legal frameworks in the current context. This is a qualitative research, which used as methods: Case Study; bibliographic and documentary research; and field research. The subjects are students of higher education courses who receive housing assistance. The critical dialectical perspective was adopted as a paradigm for evaluating public policies. To obtain the data, the interview techniques and semi-structured questionnaire were used. For qualitative information - obtained through interviews - Bardin's content analysis technique was used. The study presents a discussion on the categories: Education Policy, Regional Development and Student Assistance, and based on their appropriation we seek to achieve the proposed objectives. Regarding the results, it was found that PNAES, in the specific case studied, housing assistance at IFCE Sobral, proves to be an important instrument for the permanence of students, and allows them to have an exclusive dedication to studies, in addition to enable them to participate in extracurricular activities, thus improving their academic performance. It was also identified that Student Assistance, as it seeks to reduce inequalities and increase the permanence of students, provided students who receive housing assistance with the opportunity to make the most of their time at IFCE not only through teaching, but also by participating research and extension projects. However, even though PNAES makes a relevant contribution to the students assisted by it, it still serves only a limited portion of the students of the IES, making clear the need for greater investments in such a policy. With regard to the weaknesses, it was noticed that the budget for housing assistance is not sufficient in the face of demand, showing the importance of ensuring this policy more effectively, especially in times of dismantling and devaluation of public education.This study revealed that student assistance, through housing assistance, brought important contributions to the permanence of students at IFCE, thus being relevant to the academic life of students.