Public education on fire

In Brazil, middle and upper class families send their children to private schools, including but not restricted to religious schools. Public schools commonly offer a sub-standard learning experience to students: classrooms are overcrowded, buildings are old and not well maintained, teachers are underpaid, and there is a lack of libraries, labs and sports facilities. Most public school classrooms still have old blackboards and school equipment is often missing. São Paulo is the wealthiest among Brazil's twenty-seven states and territories. The state government administers 5,585 public primary and high schools that are attended by nearly four million working-class children.