'Age is not a challenge', says 59-year-old student who takes Enem in PR in search of a scholarship to study Law

Dione Nadja Barros dos Santos, 59 years old, was one of the students who participated in the National High School Exam (Enem), this Sunday (8), in Curitiba. In an interview with RPC, an affiliate of TV Globo in Paraná, she said that she always had the dream of studying Law and that it is never too late to start new interests.

"It's never too late. Age is not a challenge. The challenge of age is illness. If the 'old man' is sick, if the person who is at that age becomes ill, it is a challenge. But, for people who are healthy, there is no age. I will pass," he stated.

Dione also shared that she already took the English Literature course, but decided to change areas. "It was always [a dream to do Law]. The area of ​​criminalistics has always attracted me. I took the course I loved, which was Literature-English, and today I'm going to be 60 years old and I want to go into Law. I already took my first Enem, I got 800 in the essay, but now I need to increase that score to get a better scholarship, I'm here for that", he reported.

She said that she is studying for the test and that she has ease with the Humanities subjects, which is why she is dedicating herself even more to the Exact Sciences subjects, which will be covered in the exam next Sunday (15).

Dione Santos, 59 years old, takes the Enem test in Curitiba, Paraná. — Photo: Photo: Júlio Barrios/RPC

Enem for all age groups

According to the Ministry of Education (Mec), 17-year-olds and 18-year-olds are still the largest age group covered by the exam, together accounting for 50.7% of those enrolled, a total of 2,561,989 people. Furthermore, 691,633 participants are up to 16 years old, 463,720 are 19 years old and 235,457 are 20 years old.

However, new age groups have also participated in the test.

In the 21 to 30 age group, there are 725,118 registered; between 31 and 59 years old, 359,607. Participants over 60 years old total 13,821.

Enem in Paraná

Around 221.8 thousand people signed up to participate in the National High School Exam (Enem) 2026 in Paraná, according to data from the Ministry of Education (Mec). Assessments will be carried out in 95 cities in the state.

This year, it will be the first time that the Enem score will be used in the National Basic Education Assessment System (Saeb). Thus, in addition to the exam providing entry into universities through the Unified Selection System (Sisu) and the University for All Program (Prouni), it will also be an official tool for evaluating the quality of secondary education in public and private networks.

In relation to their educational trajectory, 132,465 participants from Paraná are attending the last year or year of high school. Another 52,015 have already completed this stage of basic education. There are still 34,750 enrollees who are attending high school, but will not complete it in the 2026 school year, in addition to 2,531 who are neither attending nor have completed it.