NEW REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION IN BRAZIL: AMBIVALENCES BETWEEN EXPANSION, CONTROL, AND QUALITY

Abstract

This article provides a critical analysis of Brazil’s new regulatory framework for Distance Education (EaD), focusing on Decree No. 12.456/2025 and MEC Ordinances No. 378/2025 and 381/2025. The study adopts a documentary analysis of legal instruments combined with a critical review of the literature on expansion, regulation, and quality in higher education. It examines the effects of the new framework on institutional accreditation, course formats, evaluation processes, and teaching work conditions. The findings reveal a regulatory ambivalence: while the measures strengthen academic quality and accountability, they also risk reinforcing institutional and territorial inequalities, increasing judicialization, and favoring market concentration in the private sector. The paper argues for a technical and formative regulation, aligned with public financing, teacher appreciation, and transparent monitoring up to 2027, as essential strategies to balance access democratization and pedagogical integrity within the national system of higher education.