Student assistance in Brazilian federal education and the Constitutional Amendment to the Spending Ceiling

Recent changes in federal higher education have brought a greater demand for permanence policies. However, in 2016, Constitutional Amendment No. 95 instituted a ceiling on spending valid for twenty years. This work aims to investigate the behavior of the budget and coverage of the National Student Assistance Program, observing the effects of the Amendment. This is quantitative and documentary research, with data analysis. The results point to a substantial drop in the nominal and real budget as of 2016, as well as in the coverage and amounts spent per student.