Paraná reduces school dropout and records half of Brazil's educational delay

The Paraná has made significant advances in the educação básica over the past decade. According to the Brazilian Yearbook of Educação Básica 2026, the State significantly reduced the rates of school delay and dropout in Ensino Médio, achieving results higher than the national average.

In 2025, the age-series distortion rate in the Ensino Médio paranaense was 8%, exactly half the Brazilian average, of 16%. This indicator measures the proportion of students who are at least two years behind the grade considered appropriate for their age, including students from public and private networks.

School dropout drops to 0.3% in Paraná

The numbers show a transformation in the trajectory of Paraná students. In 2015, age-series distortion reached 21.1% of Ensino Médio students. Ten years later, the percentage dropped to 8%, representing a reduction of 13.1 percentage points.

Another highlight is the drop in school dropout, which went from 7.7% in 2015 to just 0.3% in 2025. The result indicates that fewer and fewer young people are not attending school during the school year.

For the Director of Education of the State Secretariat for Education of Paraná (Seed-PR), Anderfábio Oliveira, the indicators reflect efforts to ensure that students stay in school and advance in learning.

“The reduction of dropouts and delays in school shows that we are making progress in the permanence and progression of students. Our job is to accompany each young person and act when difficulties arise so that he is able to continue learning and complete the Ensino Médio”, he says.

Approval reaches 98.2% in the Ensino Médio

Evolution also appears in approval and disapproval rates.

In 2015, the approval rate on Ensino Médio was 81.4%. In 2025, the percentage reached 98.2%, while the reprobation dropped from 10.9% to 1.5%.

The results point to a greater continuity of school life, decreasing the number of students who need to repeat series or interrupt studies before the completion of the educação básica.

The expectation is that the improvement of these indicators will also contribute, in the future, to reduce the demand for the resumption of interrupted studies.

Youth and Adult Education Expands Opportunities

In addition to the advances in regular education, Paraná also invested in expanding the possibilities of completing studies through Youth and Adult Education (EJA).

In 2025, the EJA State Examinations, conducted online, were also made available in the regular schools of the state network.

The initiative allows students with school delays to prove their knowledge and, upon approval of the required criteria, obtain certification of completion of Elementary or Middle School.

The pedagogical coordinator of EJA at Seed-PR, Miriam Teixeira de Oliveira, explains that the measure represents an alternative for those who seek to regularize the school trajectory.

“With the extension of exams to regular schools, students who were in age-series distortion were able to demonstrate the knowledge acquired throughout their trajectory. Upon obtaining the necessary approval, they had the opportunity to complete Elementary Education or the Ensino Médio”, he points out.

Other possibilities include the National Exam for Certification of Competencies of Young People and Adults (Encceja) and the resumption of the certification of the Ensino Médio by the National Exam of the Ensino Médio (Enem), from the 2025 edition.

Each modality has specific requirements for age, participation and performance.

Paraná records 329% growth in EJA registrations

While Brazil faces a reduction in enrolment in Youth and Adult Education, the Paraná presents opposite movement.

Data from the School Census, organized by the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (Inep), show that the number of enrolments of the EJA in the country fell from 2,589,815, in 2023, to 2,252,069, in 2025. The decrease corresponds to approximately 13%.

In the Paraná, however, there was significant growth:

Year

Registration at EJA no Paraná

Álvaro

10,963

Özil

40.691

WWII

47.014

In just two years, the state recorded an increase of approximately 329%, with 36,051 more registrations compared to 2023.

The growth evidences the expansion of access to schooling opportunities for people who did not complete educação básica at regular age.

Improving indicators can transform the future of education

The national reduction in enrolment in the EJA may be related to different factors, including the decrease in school dropouts, the improvement of the educational flow and the increase in the proportion of young people who manage to complete their studies within the expected age.

In Paraná, the combination of dropout, reduction of reproach and expansion of certification alternatives points to a scenario of greater permanence and access to education.

Despite the positive results, the monitoring of students and the coping of learning difficulties remain challenges to ensure that progress is maintained in the coming years. (The information is from the State News Agency)

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