Um Popular Education (PE) and Popular Pre-University Courses (CPVP in Portuguese) – between contradiction and conciliation?

Reflections from the CPVP Liberato at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

Popular Pre-University Courses (CPVP in Portuguese) face contradictions that reflect the exclusionary logic of capitalism, especially the tension between their utilitarian character – focused on technical preparation for exams – and the critical and emancipatory principles of Popular Education (PE). Confronting this apparent incompatibility, we ask: how can PE be integrated into CPVP without reinforcing educational elitism? This article, based on a case study of Liberato CPVP, discusses strategies and challenges for this integration. Results reveal persistent structural obstacles, such as financial scarcity undermines infrastructure and materials; students’ educational gaps reflect historical inequalities; volunteer teachers, often lacking PE training, generate debates about commitment and continuity. In response, the Liberato CPVP experience demonstrates that collective strategies can mitigate these challenges. These include ongoing teacher training, integrating technical content with debates on social reality and class consciousness, and the construction of solidarity support networks. Beyond exam preparation, CPVP can be spaces for social struggle and transformation, reaffirming higher education as a collective right, as long as its contradictions are collectively addressed in the struggle for equity.