How the School Census helps create public policies with technology

Every year, schools across Brazil mobilize for a crucial task: the School Census, whose 2026 collection began on May 27th, the National Basic Education School Census Day, and runs until July 31st. Coordinated by the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (Inep), this survey is the main instrument for collecting data on basic education and serves as a complete x-ray of the country’s educational reality. The information collected in this cycle will form the basis for planning and distributing resources in the following years.

More than just numbers on a spreadsheet, data on enrollment, infrastructure, classes and education professionals are the raw material for creating effective public policies. Technology plays a central role in this process, transforming statistics into concrete actions that impact millions of students and educators.

From data to public policy

After schools send the information through the Educacenso System, the official online collection platform, Inep consolidates and organizes this database. The statistics generate an accurate diagnosis of education in the country, revealing approval rates, dropout rates and the relationship between the number of students and teachers by region. It is detailed work that allows challenges and opportunities to be identified on a national, state and municipal scale.

These verified numbers feed federal government platforms that automatically calculate funding transfers and the logistics of essential programs. In this way, technology ensures that the distribution of resources is based on evidence, making the process more transparent and fair.

In practice, the School Census directly influences:

• Fundeb distribution: The main financing fund for basic education has its resources distributed between states and municipalities based on the number of students reported in the census.

• School meals: The National School Meal Program (PNAE) defines the amount of funding for meals based on the total number of students enrolled.

• School transport: Data on students in rural areas is used by the National School Transport Support Program (PNATE) to plan routes and allocate funds.

• Textbooks: The National Book and Teaching Material Program (PNLD) uses the information to send the exact amount of material for each teaching unit.

• Infrastructure: the identification of areas with a high demand for students and little structure guides the construction of new schools and the expansion of existing ones.

Therefore, accuracy in filling out data by each school manager is essential. An error or omission can affect not just one school, but the entire planning of a municipality. Technology only works with quality information, ensuring that the future of education is built on a solid foundation and connected to the reality of each classroom.

An AI tool was used to assist in the production of this report, under human editorial supervision.