On the ninth Sunday of this month, more than 3 million students from all over Brazil participated in the first day of the National Secondary School Examination (Enem). Without controversies or leaks – common in previous years -, the session was marked by students being affected by a hurricane, the rescue of a canceled test, the participation of a former Pantanal representative, the mention of Paola Oliveira and a slight increase in the rate of abstentions. See the key points below:
- Re-submit the application for those affected by the hurricane
Candidates from Rio Bonito do Iguaçu, a city in Parana that was devastated by the hurricane that passed through the area on Friday 7, as well as all students affected by the tragedy, will have the right to request the re-application of the test between 17 and 21 November.
The benefit is also valid for all candidates who have health and/or logistical issues. The new tests will be conducted on December 16 and 17.
- A slight increase in abstentions
The first day of ENM 2025 witnessed an abstention rate of 27%, according to the Ministry of Education. Of the 4.8 million registered candidates, about 1.2 million did not take the tests. The index was slightly higher than the rate recorded in 2024, reaching 26.6%. In the 2023 edition, 28.1% of the 3,934,242 registered did not attend the first day of the exam.
- Excluding 3.2 thousand candidates
In total, 3,240 candidates were disqualified, according to Education Minister Camilo Santana. Eliminations were performed by leaving the testing site with the question book before the last 30 minutes of administration; Carry electronic equipment. Absenteeism before the permitted time (3:30 p.m.); Use printed materials. Failure to comply with inspectors’ instructions.
This year’s article topic was “Perspectives on Aging in Brazilian Society.” Experts he consulted land Point out “the opposite” regarding other versions of Enem, and warn of the “possible prank”, but stress that this is a frequently discussed topic.
The choice also attracted attention because it recalls a prominent episode in the exam’s history: the 2009 Enem leak, which would have suggested an “elderly assessment.” That year, the test was canceled a few days before the application was due, after a copy of the question book was stolen from the printing press. The case came to light after a man contacted the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo and claimed to have taken the test and tried to sell it for R$500,000.
– Read an example of a thousand-point essay on this year’s essay topic
- Quote by Paula Oliveira
Actress Paola Oliveira appeared in one of the 90 Questions. According to Thatian Hecht, a language teacher at Elite Rede de Ensino, the actress has been cited as “an example of a public figure targeted by comments that highlight the standardization of female beauty, highlighting the aesthetic pressures placed on women and social criticisms of this type of behaviour.”
In recent years, Paula has become an important voice in the fight against female beauty standards and has spoken openly about the pressures she is under to take care of her physical appearance. The bad comments you receive on social media are often revealing.
- Excerpts from the Bible and the Holy Qur’an, variations of “Kangika” and Clarice Lispector
With excerpts from the Bible, the Qur’an, and Clarice Lispector, the Languages, Symbols, Technologies, and Humanities tests presented questions that discussed linguistic diversity — one of which was the word hominy — black representation, Greek mythology, indigenous rights, and aesthetic pressure on women.
Actress Giovanna Goldfarb, 61, was one of 17,192 registrants over the age of 60 to take part in Enem 2025. “My student version deserves to be better,” she said, who is best known for playing Zefa in the first version of the series. Pantanalin 1999.
To the newspaper globeShe explained that she had set some goals: “Skills history, geography, literature, and English; Get an 800 on the essay; Get something right in math and physics; Get some of my biology and chemistry right; Succeed in the college I want.”
- Blind hugs and the “venting corner”
Through the “Shout Corner,” volunteers provide emotional support to Enem candidates:
Emotional support projects were implemented in a school in the western region of São Paulo to provide blind hugs, a “catharsis corner”, motivational messages and even the delivery of water and a black pen to candidates who were running in the Enem 2025 competition.
One of them, Project Help, which has been around for 8 years, consists of volunteer psychologists and people who have overcome emotional problems. “Today, we, Enem, came here to share the message of overcoming, to say that they can take the test, that they need to believe in them and show that we are here to support them,” project coordinator Felipe Santos, 38, explains to Terra.
The group had a pickup truck, where they set up a “venting corner.” “That is, if they want to talk, leave all the worry, fear and worry, and go take the test with a calm head and then get a good result,” Felipe says. “People arrive in a state of extreme anxiety, and we meet students on the verge of having an anxiety attack,” he adds.
- 13 hours of study per day for the second grade
Student María Eduarda Alves Silva, 18, participated for the second time “for real” in the Enem competition with the aim of obtaining a high score and winning the long-awaited place in the Architecture course at the University of São Paulo (USP).
“I’m calm because I studied all year and I hope everything will go well. We never know,” the young woman says in an interview with Terra. She says she studied hard all year with the help of her pre-university course. “I used to go to classes in the morning, but now, with the exam coming up, I stay studying until the night.” The young woman says that she studied at least 13 hours a day, including Saturdays. On Sundays, I relaxed when I wasn’t simulating.
- Back to Enem after 7 years
A young man takes EINEM again after 7 years and explains the details of the preparation: ‘He has not given up studying’:
In search of a good grade to try to get a place on a law course, Caroline Cardoso Campos, 27, took the Enem exam again seven years after taking the exam for the first time.
In conversation with landCaroline, who lives in the Brasilia neighbourhood, said she first took Enem in 2018, got a place in law, and studied it for a year, but for personal reasons she was unable to continue in college. And now she wants to return to that dream.
Throughout the year, the young woman, who currently works at a pastry stall from 9am to 9pm, says she has had to balance work with preparing for Enem. She studied on her own and through free online platforms every day when she returned home at night. “I would always devote two or three hours to studying. Sometimes I would stay up all night. On Sundays, when I wasn’t working, I would study for three to four hours.”
About The Author
