The privatization expansion of Higher Education in the Brazilian northeast (2010–2022): financialization and oligopolization

This article analyzes the expansion of private Higher Education in the Northeast of Brazil, taking as reference the enrollments of the three largest Publicly Traded Groups operating in the region, Cogna, Yduqs, and Ser Educacional, from 2010 to 2022. It considers the expansion of the private commercial sector as part of financialized capitalism, which, in the educational field, occurs through the formation of large oligopolies connected to the financial sector. It is based on the theoretical framework of historical-dialectical materialism and uses as methodology the literature review and the elaboration of statistical series, based on microdata from the Inep Higher Education Census. The results indicate an expansion of enrollments in the private commercial sector, driven by strategies such as corporate governance, digital platforms, and distance learning, which has been reinforcing the commercialization of Education.

Keywords:
Financialization; Educational Oligopolies; Private Higher Education