Instituto Federals all over Brazil are changing the face of education. Many school systems have been built on social exclusion, and Brazilian education is no different. Expensive private schools compete with public schools in preparing students for standardized post-secondary entrance exams. Some public schools are very well respected, and some are not equipped to prepare students for entrance exams. It is mostly the students coming out of private schools that are successful university candidates. The irony is that federal universities have free tuition and yet mostly wealthy students from private schools are accepted.
The Director of the IFAM Distrito Industrial campus Jose Pinheiro argues perhaps university education cannot fulfill the needs of the Brazilian context. Currently the Brazilian economy is booming, and desperately requires skilled labour. There is a high demand for jobs in the new construction, trade, and manufacturing industries yet the workforce lacks training.
Instituto Federals (IFs) have taken a completely opposite approach by making social inclusion their mission. IFAM, the Instituto Federal serving the state of Amazonas is an exciting mix of high school, online courses, adult education, technical college courses, and post graduate programs. IFs have been perfectly adapted to Brazilian contexts where the diverse needs of different segments of the population can be met. Unlike the university system, IFAM has successfully developed a more inclusive education system with multiple levels of learning.
The technical college courses offered by IFAM are very popular and gaining a prestigious reputation amongst computer, telecommunications, and electronics industries. Many large corporations such as Honda and Nokia have sponsored IFAM programs and research. Suframa, a governmental organization responsible for innovation and development in the state of Amazonas attracts much attention from industries and enables corporate funding for IFAM. Many professors stated their students go on to work in the industries they were trained in at IFAM. Through IFs the Brazilian government has been able to generate employment using accessible highschool and technical courses.
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