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The Brazilian educational system includes both public (federal, state, and municipal) and private institutions, ranging from pre-school, elementary (First Degree - I Grau), and secondary (Second Degree - II Grau) to university and post-graduate levels. Education is compulsory for ages seven through to 14. Public education is free at all levels. Non-profit private schools are also eligible to receive public funding. The 1988 Brazilian Constitution allocates 25 percent of state and local tax revenues to education. Significant advances have been made in the Brazilian educational structure in the last 25 years. In 1964, there were ten million students attending school at all levels. In 1990, there were 37.6 million students: 3.9 million in pre-school; 28.2 million at the elementary level; 3.8 million at the secondary; and 1.7 million at university. Despite this progress, less than 40 percent of the high-school-aged population are enrolled in school.
One of the biggest educational problems in Brazil is school non-attendance. Children from large poor families start working from the age of 10 in order to help their parents, despite the law of compulsory education between the ages of 10 and 14. Other reasons for school non-attendance are the lack of sufficient school places and the high examination failure rate. Malnutrition also materially affects the intellectual development of children, giving them little chance of adapting to an educational environment.
 The Ministry of Education has ultimate control over virtually all of higher education. Its principal standard-setting agency is the Federal Council of Education. The Federal Government maintains at least one Federal university in each state. Due to the great demand for higher education and the lack of places, colleges (faculdades) and universities in Brazil, both public and private, require an entrance exam (vestibular). Upon completion of a full academic course of study, university students may obtain the Bachelor Degree (Bacharelado) and may also have an additional year's teacher training (Licenciatura).
Twenty years ago there were few post-graduate courses in Brazil. In 1989 there was a total of 902 tertiary institutions, including 93 universities. More than 1,000 post-graduate courses are available, most of which benefit from highly proficient faculties, on a par with similar institutions in the more advanced countries.
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