Student Loses Prouni Scholarship Due to Mother's Online Gaming Transactions

A student, Eduardo dos Santos, had his Prouni scholarship denied due to his mother's online gaming transactions. Despite meeting all the educational requirements and having a family income within the allowed limit, the university considered the transactions as income, thus exceeding the allowed limit.

According to the student, the transactions were related to online gaming platforms and did not constitute income. However, the university, UNIP, considered the transactions as income, citing the law that prizes are considered income.

The student had been studying for almost three years to realize his dream of attending college and had been pré-selected for the Prouni scholarship. He had met all the requirements, including having a family income of up to 1.5 minimum wages per person.

## Background The Prouni program is a government initiative that offers full and partial scholarships to students from low-income families. The program is managed by the Ministry of Education, and the selection process is based on the student's performance in the National High School Exam (Enem) and their family income.

The student's mother is a retiree, and their family income is below the minimum wage. However, the university considered the online gaming transactions as income, which exceeded the allowed limit.

## Expert Opinion Experts in educational law agree that the mere circulation of money in a bank account cannot be confused with income or patrimonial increase. They argue that only the effective increase in patrimony can be considered as income.

According to Paulo Bandeira, an expert in educational law, the key element in this case is the increase in patrimony. He argues that the university cannot consider the online gaming transactions as income without verifying if there was an effective increase in patrimony.

## Next Steps The student has filed a formal appeal to reverse the denial of the scholarship. However, the university has stated that the analysis of documents is only done during the interview period, and after that, the system is closed, and no further analysis can be done.

The student is now seeking legal help to try to reverse the decision. Experts believe that there is a chance to change the decision if the student can prove that the denial was based on an incorrect interpretation of the bank transactions, without any real increase in patrimony.

| Category | Description | | --- | --- | | Family Income | Up to 1.5 minimum wages per person | | Scholarship | Full scholarship (100%) or partial scholarship (50% discount) | | Program | Prouni (Programa Universidade para Todos) | | University | UNIP (Universidade Paulista) | | Student's Performance | Pré-selected based on Enem performance |