59-year-old candidate arrives two hours early for Enem 2026 to avoid delays and dreams of passing visual arts

The National High School Exam (Enem) 2026 takes place this Sunday (8), with the first tests and the essay. Candidate in the exam, José Roberto, 59 years old, will take the test and arrived two hours in advance at the place where it will take place, at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), in João Pessoa, to avoid delays.

To g1, he recalled his dream of passing Visual Arts, an area he has dedicated himself to since he was 12 years old. José Roberto wants to enter university to have other professional opportunities in the area, with the course.

"So, Enem will qualify you for a degree. This is good, because it opens up more space for the job market (...) I have work on display outside of Paraíba. And that's it, right, folks. Let's really give space to knowledge, because culture elevates the country's condition", he said.

José Roberto also commented that he already took another entrance exam, but that he was unable to advance because he failed in mathematics and that, thanks to the encouragement of his grandchildren, he is trying the Enem again to make his dream come true.

Enem 2026

In this edition, the Ministry of Education (MEC) registered more than 5 million registrations across the country. In total, 140,745 people are registered to take the exam in Paraíba this year.

Enem is considered the main form of entry into higher education in Brazil, through federal programs such as the Unified Selection System (Sisu), the University for All Program (Prouni) and the Student Financing Fund (Fies).

Public and private educational institutions use test results to select students.

The individual results of the exam can also be used in selection processes at educational institutions in Portugal that have an agreement with Inep.

Since the 2025 edition, Enem has also once again certified the completion of secondary education for candidates aged 18 and over.

For the first time, Enem will also aim to assess the mastery of skills and abilities expected at the end of high school, integrating the Basic Education Assessment System (Saeb).