National Retention Grant Program
What is the National Retention Grant Program?
The Retention Grant Program (Programa Bolsa Permanência – PBP) of the Brazilian Ministry of Education is a government action for granting financial support to students enrolled in federal higher education institutions who are in a socioeconomically vulnerable situation and to indigenous and quilombola students. The grant is paid directly to the undergraduate student through means of a benefit card.
This financial support aims at minimizing social inequalities and contributing to the retention and graduation of students in a socioeconomically vulnerable situation. Its value, as established by the Ministry of Education, is equivalent to those granted within the federal policies for scientific initiation scholarships, currently corresponding to R$ 400.00. For indigenous and quilombola students, a different value is guaranteed, equivalent to at least the double of the value paid for other students due to their specificity in relation to the social organization of their communities, geographical conditions, customs, languages, beliefs and traditions, as supported by the Federal Constitution. Furthermore, indigenous and quilombola students enrolled in intercultural education programs also have the right for the retention grant during the period of educational activities at a Federal Institution of Higher Education (IFES), up to a maximum of six months.
A great advantage of the Retention Grant provided by the Ministry of Education is to be cumulative: it can be granted together with other types of academic scholarships, such as the one provided by the Tutorial Education Program (PET) and the Institutional Program for Initiation Scholarships.
Objectives of the Program
The objectives of the program are:
I – to enable the retention of students in a socioeconomically vulnerable situation, specially indigenous and quilombola;
II – to reduce the costs of maintenance of idle vacancies in consequence of students’ dropout;
III – to promote the democratization of access to higher education through the adoption of complementary actions for the promotion of academic performance.
Who can receive it?
In order to receive the Retention Grant, the students must:
I – have a monthly family income per capita not exceeding one and a half minimum wage;
II – be enrolled in an undergraduate program with an average study load superior or identical to five hours a day;
III – not surpass two semesters of the undergraduate program regular schedule for graduation;
IV – have signed the Term of Commitment;
IV – have their set of records approved and monthly ratified by the federal institution of higher education within the scope of the program’s information system.
In addition, the Program prioritizes indigenous and quilombola students, who can receive the grant regardless of the average study load of the programs they are enrolled in.
For further information, please access http://permanencia.mec.gov.br/