Brazilian University Students “Do Everything but Study”, Says Bolsonaro

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In a speech during an event in Tocantins state on Thursday, December 12th, President Jair Bolsonaro criticized Brazilian universities, saying that students do “everything but study”.

“Are there any Brazilian universities among the 200 best in the world? There are not! This is a shame! What is being done in many universities and colleges in Brazil, what do students do? They do everything but study,” said the president.

In the most recent edition of THE ranking, of “Times Higher Education” magazine, the University of São Paulo (USP) was positioned in the block between 251st and 300th place. In previous editions, however, this same survey had already included USP among the top 200 in the world, in 2012 and 2013.

Other renowned international rankings may be at odds with Bolsonaro’s speech. Published annually, the QS University Rankings includes USP among the top 200 since 2012. In the edition published in June, the São Paulo institution ranked 116th.

The Shanghai ranking, conducted by Shanghai Ranking Consulting and which also assesses hundreds of institutions around the world, announced its most recent edition in August. In it, USP climbed several positions and stood in the block between 101st and 150th positions.

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