O declínio do financiamento da educação superior no cenário de austeridade fiscal contemporâneo : um estudo na Universidade Estadual da Paraíba (2016-2024)

Abstract

The adoption of fiscal austerity as a premise for the balance of public accounts has become a central axis of the economic policy of several countries, especially in contexts of crisis. In Brazil, the institutionalization of this policy, through the approval of Constitutional Amendment 95/2016, was marked by a strong discourse of spending restraint, which directly impacted the state's ability to finance social policies, significantly affecting the field of public education. Among the most affected sectors, higher education stands out, whose progressive reduction of resources jeopardizes the sustainability of institutions. Although PEC 95/2016 does not directly apply to states and municipalities, this scenario has been reproduced at other federal levels, especially after the ministerial meeting that took place on June 20, 2016, in the National Treasury Ministry's Council room, where the renegotiation of state debts was conditioned on austerity commitments from governors. In this context, the present study aims to analyze the impacts of fiscal austerity policy on the financing of the State University of Paraiba (UEPB), within the time frame from 2016 to 2024, based on the official budgetary data from the institution and the State of Paraiba. The results demonstrate that, although the Gross Ordinary Revenue of the State of Paraiba increased by 46.38% during the period, the transfers to UEPB experienced a contraction of 11.06%. In values adjusted by the IPCA, UEPB's budget fell from R$ 466.48 million in 2016 to R$ 414.88 million in 2024. The analysis by group of expense nature revealed that more than 80% of UEPB's budget is committed to personnel, indicating budget rigidity and little room for institutional growth. Operating expenses remained stable (from R$ 59.7 million in 2016 to R$ 58.3 million in 2024), signaling stagnation. On the other hand, investments (capital expenses) fluctuated significantly, ranging from R$ 12.8 million in 2016 to only R$ 419.5 thousand in 2024, indicating structural fragility and chronic underfunding of the university. The theoretical contribution of this study was based on the works of Rossi et al. (2019), Cardoso (2022), Ferraz and Gouveia (2023), Gomes and Clark (2021), Maclntyre (2001). From a methodological standpoint, this is an applied research with a deductive approach and exploratory-descriptive objective. The technical procedures adopted combined bibliographic and documentary study with analysis of data obtained from the Transparency Portal of UEPB, the Integrated Financial Administration System (SIAFI), and the relevant legislation on the matter. As a technical and technological product, a technical report was prepared, which presents both a diagnosis of the budgetary weaknesses of UEPB and a proposal for intervention aimed at mitigating the effects of the underfunding of the institution.