The Ministry of Education published this Wednesday (8) an ordinance creating the working group to promote technical studies related to the Student Financing Fund (Fies), which should undergo changes soon, which supported higher education actions at B3 .
Around 1:50 pm, the shares of Yduqs soared 12.02%, to R$ 7.55, while Cogna’s shares jumped 10.89%, to R$ 2.24, leading the gains of the Ibovespa, which advanced 2.06%.
Outside the index, Anima had an increase of 14.68%, at R$ 3.75, Ser Educacional rose 5.8%, at R$ 4.01, and Cruzeiro do Sul gained 5.78%, at R$ 3, 11.
In the view of Citi analysts Leandro Bastos and Renan Prata, a “bolder push in a ‘new Fies’” remains the main upside risk for higher education stocks in Brazil in the short term.
In a report sent to clients earlier, they highlighted that, although the new government has already given different signals about the reactivation of Fies, the ordinance seems to be the first concrete measure in this sense, which may suggest that changes may occur in the short term.
“That said, the new terms — for example, including distance learning, co-participation, interest —, conditions — for example, minimum Enem score, family income ceiling — and scale will continue to be fundamental to assess possible implications.”
According to the ordinance in the Federal Official Gazette, the group, within the scope of the Executive Secretariat of the MEC, should carry out diagnoses on the current situation of Fies and present proposals and schedule for studies on the fund. The group is expected to start meeting next week.
“This was President Lula’s determination. There is a high default in relation to Fies today. Some important points will be evaluated in this new discussion”, highlighted the Minister of Education, Camilo Santana, in a statement published on the folder’s website.
Education was one of the flags of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during his campaign for the Planalto Palace.
Among the issues that should be reassessed are the funding limit and the reduction of bureaucracy in the Program. The intention, according to the press release from the MEC, is for Fies to be 100% digital as of the next edition. The cap value of some courses, such as medicine, will also be discussed.
The group will have a duration of 180 days, which can be changed.
cautious view
Even assessing that the recurrence of the Fies headlines may naturally continue to improve the sentiment around the education sector, Citi analysts claim that they still have a more cautious view.
Bastos and Prata consider that, probably, a big fiscal push would be necessary to promote significant changes, while their implementation is not necessarily “a walk in the park”.
They cite as potential difficulties the qualitative filters and income requirements, bureaucracy, fiscal restrictions and the program’s history of high default, among others.
Furthermore, they added, with the benefit of hindsight today, a large Fies push would likely be seen as not sustainable in the longer term, “which could deter companies from aggressively increasing exposure once again.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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