The conclusion of the 2014 National Education Plan (NEP), in June 2024 (which was extended until December 31/2025, by the law 14.934/2024), marked a decisive moment for re-evaluating Brazil's educational progress. The NEP was conceived as a comprehensive national strategy and established goals to improve quality, expand access, strengthen professional training, reduce historical social inequalities, and thus modernize the educational system at all levels. However, after 10 years, the country faces the persistent reality that most of the proposed and established goals remain unattainable. Just to give you an idea, the actual execution rate of the plan did not exceed 40%. This outcome represents a serious failure of political management, as it reflects the loss of an opportunity to increase educational equity, with profound implications for the country's socioeconomic and cultural development. Among the critical factors of Brazil's "historical political inertia" is the negative impact on the training and development of professionals across all areas of knowledge, whose preparation fundamentally depends on good planning, quality, and an excellent educational structure at all levels and areas of pedagogical, educational and scientific knowledge (MEC, 2014;Bucci and Gomes, 2017;Weller and Horta Neto, 2020;Costello et al., 2022;Silva et al., 2022;Agência Senado, 2023;Barros and Ferreira, 2023;Tamata and Mohammadnezhad, 2023;Conae, 2024;Portal G1, 2024). Our research group has demonstrated that gaps in knowledge related to condition-specific issues, clinical care, and self-management directly could have an impair the quality of healthcare delivery and, in turn, patient health outcomes (Vancini et al., 2010(Vancini et al., , 2012(Vancini et al., , 2021;;de Lira et al., 2013de Lira et al., , 2021;;Lira et al., 2014).Despite some achievements, such as improvements in higher education quality indicators and advances in teacher training, these gains have been overshadowed by stagnation in the quality of elementary and secondary education. It should be emphasized that this is also a process of "historical political inertia" in Brazil-in other words, reality shows that the quality of public higher education is much higher than that of public elementary and secondary education. This disparity is reflected in qualifications and readiness for university admission and impacts academic performance in higher education later, in student life. Such stagnation is concerning, given that these educational stages form the intellectual and cognitive foundation necessary for advanced professional training. Analyses conducted by civil society organizations and academic institutions converge on the assessment that Brazilian political instability and partisan polarization, budget restrictions imposed according to personal interests, fragmented governance between federal and state levels, the lack of continuity in evidence-based educational policies, and the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic collectively inhibited progress (Agência Senado, 2023;Conae, 2024;Portal G1, 2024).The challenges and barriers, despite attempts at practical confrontation, not only delayed the implementation of the NEP but, in some cases, reversed prior progress, revealing structural fragilities in the country's capacity to sustain long-term educational reform due to the absence of a serious and consistent State Policy capable of transcending political mandates. Furthermore, national monitoring reports point to limited improvements in racial inclusion through quota policies and in reducing inequality in early childhood education, especially for Black and female students (MEC, 2014;Barros and Ferreira, 2023;Portal G1, 2024). In other words, the signs of progress fall far short of the structural transformation promised in 2014. As a result, Brazil remains burdened by an educational system incapable of ensuring equitable quality or sustained academic growth. Understanding these deficiencies is essential, as the consequences of an underperforming educational system extend strongly into the health sector, which is the primary focus of this opinion article.Education and health are deeply interconnected within the framework of social determinants. The quality of national education influences not only economic productivity and civic participation but also the training of healthcare professionals who work on the front lines of hospitals, schools, primary care units, and the Unified Health System (SUS). A decline or stagnation in educational performance directly affects the competencies, literacy levels, and readiness of students entering undergraduate and technical programs in health-related fields. Therefore, it is reasonable to argue that the NEP's unmet goals represent a barrier to the country's ability to train qualified healthcare professionals in sufficient numbers and with adequate preparation.Countries around the world face growing challenges in developing healthcare professionals, but the Brazilian context is particularly complex. The demographic aging of the population, the expansion of chronic diseases, mental health issues, and the consequences of socioeconomic inequality collectively increase demands on the health system. The SUS, as one of the world's largest universal healthcare systems, relies heavily on the continuous training of professionals capable of integrating technical knowledge with cultural competence, ethical reasoning, and a solid understanding of the social determinants of health.The failure to meet the educational goals of the NEP compromises the development of these competencies from the earliest stages of students' educational trajectories. The systemic consequences of these failures are extensive. Deficiencies in basic and secondary education undermine students' performance in higher education, especially in areas that require scientific reasoning, quantitative literacy, and critical analysis.Universities frequently find themselves forced to compensate for educational deficits that should have been addressed earlier, straining institutional resources and affecting the depth of professional training. For students in medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, physical education, public health, nutrition, and related fields, gaps in foundational knowledge translate into challenges in mastering complex clinical reasoning, interpreting scientific evidence, or effectively participating in interprofessional teams.Moreover, the NEP's shortcomings affect the stability and development of the teaching profession. Teachers shape the cognitive and socioemotional development of future professionals. However, chronic underinvestment in salaries, pedagogical resources, and continuing education has diminished their ability to provide high-quality instruction.This limitation has a cascading effect: when teachers are undervalued and overburdened, student performance declines, and long-term professional training across sectors, including health, becomes compromised.Educational stagnation also limits Brazil's ability to innovate in health education.Modern healthcare increasingly requires interdisciplinary competencies such as digital health literacy, epidemiological surveillance, interprofessional collaboration, and the ability to operate in complex, technologically advanced clinical environments. These competencies depend on strong articulation between basic education, technical training, and higher educational connections the NEP aimed to strengthen but failed to achieve.Without this articulation, Brazil risks falling behind global standards in professional training and health system modernization.Another dimension that deserves attention is the role of education as a social determinant of health. International evidence consistently links educational attainment to health outcomes: individuals with higher educational levels tend to exhibit better health literacy, greater adherence to treatment, lower prevalence of chronic diseases, and higher life expectancy. Conversely, educational disadvantages are associated with poorer health indicators and reduced access to preventive care (Vancini et al., 2010(Vancini et al., , 2012(Vancini et al., , 2021;;de Lira et al., 2013de Lira et al., , 2021;;Lira et al., 2014;Costello et al., 2022;Tamata and Mohammadnezhad, 2023). The communities most affected by inadequate public education-especially low-income, rural, Black, Indigenous, and peripheral populations-are also those most dependent on the SUS. Thus, when the NEP fails, consequences accumulate across generations, reinforcing historically rooted inequalities and placing additional burdens on the health system.Healthcare professionals must be prepared to respond to these inequalities. This requires more than technical knowledge; it depends on educational systems that cultivate cultural sensitivity, communication skills, empathy, humanization, ethical competence, and awareness of social determinants. Such competencies-essential for humanized and equitable healthcare-are difficult to develop in environments marked by fragile educational foundations. A renewed vision for education is therefore not only a matter of national development but a prerequisite for strengthening the healthcare workforce and improving population health.Given the breadth and urgency of these challenges, the next NEP must represent more than a continuation of previous political cycles. It must embody a renewed national pact, grounded in pedagogical and scientific evidence, oriented toward the future, and Finally, our entire text is based on professional, academic, educational, and scientific experience. Ultimately, the unfulfilled promises of the 2014 NEP represent more than a small portion of the economic, political, social, and educational crisis in which Brazil is immersed-and from which it has not emerged. We Brazilian citizens are tired and weary of hearing that "Brazil is the country of the future." A future that never arrives and never materializes for us, the citizens.Table 1 below presents an organized summary of the main bibliographic references used in the article, highlighting studies that analyze the evolution, structural challenges, and results of the Brazilian educational system over the last few decades. It brings together different sources -governmental, academic, and journalistic -allowing a comparative view of the general conclusions of each author or institution regarding the performance of the National Education Plan, federal governance, the evaluation of higher education, persistent inequalities, and the influence of external agendas.Table 1. Overview of the bibliographic references related to the Brazilian educational system used in the opinion article.Year General conclusion MEC 2014 Brazilian educational planning faces structural challenges stemming from complex federalism, a lack of regulation of cooperation between entities, and the persistence of patrimonialism practices. Strengthening the NPE as a state policy requires alignment between plans and integration between financing, management, and evaluation of performance indicators. National goals, especially those related to access, literacy, early childhood education, secondary education, teacher training, and expansion of higher education-depend on intergovernmental collaboration and technical support from the federal government. However, regional inequalities and difficulties in local implementation persist, particularly in municipalities with less institutional capacity. Advancing the NPE goals requires continuous coordination between the federal government, states, and municipalities, as well as integrated territorial planning. Furthermore, public managers need to incorporate each goal into territorial planning, strengthen institutional capacities, improve monitoring processes, and ensure adequate funding. The NPE will only produce concrete effects with cooperative governance, administrative continuity, and broadened social participation. Bucci and Gomes 2017 The study demonstrates that the 2014 NPE was unable to overcome long-standing structural barriers in the Brazilian education system-such as profound socioeconomic inequalities, weak coordination among federal entities, institutional fragility, and chronic underfunding. The study concludes that achieving a significant impact requires strengthening intergovernmental cooperation, guaranteeing stable and adequate funding, expanding the autonomy of educational institutions, and improving implementation and oversight mechanisms. Furthermore, regulatory reforms are effective when supported by continuous governance and long-term, sustained political commitment. Weller and Horta Neto 2020 The evolution of the Brazilian educational system reveals a path marked by successive reforms throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries, reflecting political changes and the constant need to reorganize educational levels. However, the limited coordination between the federal government, states, and municipalities within a fragmented federalism remains a central obstacle, hindering the effectiveness of educational policies. It is concluded that expanding the right to education requires not only broadening access and retention but also ensuring comprehensive education-human, cultural, and scientific. Among the practical applications, the study reinforces the need to strengthen the National Education System, improve intergovernmental planning, reduce regional inequalities, and consolidate state public policies. It also emphasizes the importance of evaluation mechanisms that allow for assessing goals and guiding decisions. In short, the Brazilian educational system is advancing but remains conditioned by structural challenges that demand political continuity and coordinated management.lasting political commitment, and concrete implementation mechanisms. The approved proposals offer a practical basis for guiding more integrated, just, and aligned educational policies that address the real needs of the country. Portal G12024 The report "10 Years of the NEP" shows that only four of the 20 goals of the 2014-2024 NEP were fully or partially met, highlighting serious flaws in Brazilian education policy. Critical deficits persist in child literacy, universal access to primary education, reduction of functional illiteracy, resumption of Youth and Adult Education, and improvement of teachers' working conditions. Among the advances, the increase in Black children in daycare, the reduction of racial inequalities in primary education, and the greater presence of Black and mixed-race individuals in higher education stand out. However, 90% of the specific strategies were not implemented, a situation aggravated by data constraints, economic crises, and political instability. It concludes that the NEP brought about some progress but did not overcome historical inequalities nor guarantee systemic implementation. The study reinforces the need for articulated federative governance, adequate funding, teacher appreciation, and greater alignment of public actions for the next cycle to be effective.
Vancini et al. (Mon,) studied this question.