The first day of tests for the National High School Exam (Enem) 2026, this Sunday (8), brought together candidates of different ages, with different trajectories and objectives, in Manaus. Between students seeking a place at university through the University for All Program (Prouni) and people who returned to study to fulfill their dream of attending college, the day was marked by expectations and nervousness.
At the Amazonas Education Institute (IEA), in the center of Manaus, some of the candidates began to leave the place at around 5:30 pm, the time at which they were allowed to leave with the question booklet. To g1, they evaluated the first day of the test and the topic of the essay, which addressed the valorization of the Unified Health System (SUS) as a universal right.
Earlier, students who took the test at Nilton Lins University, in the Central-South Zone, also spoke about the expectation of getting a place at graduation. On this first day of tests, the 90 questions were distributed in languages, Codes and their Technologies, Human Sciences and their Technologies, in addition to writing.
At 58 years old, housewife Ironildes Moreira reported that she took the exam for the first time. She said she was nervous during the test, had a headache and had difficulty writing her essay. Preparation took place over the last few months, with teacher classes available on YouTube and materials lent by her niece.
"It was kind of difficult because it was my first time. I was very nervous, shaking and had a headache. At the time of writing, I felt blank, but then I managed to do something", she reported.
Ironildes’ goal is to study gastronomy. She intends to continue studying and reinforce her preparation in subjects such as chemistry and physics to try again next year.
Student Juliane Maciel, 18 years old, said she was surprised by the topic of the essay. Before the test, she expected an approach to artificial intelligence or the impacts of social networks on young people's health. When he found the proposal about the SUS, he needed to reorganize the arguments he intended to develop.
"When I saw the topic, I was paralyzed for a moment. I didn't expect it to fall into the appreciation of the health system. Defending the SUS is a little difficult because, nowadays, a lot of people wait in line. We have more disadvantages than advantages, in my opinion", she assessed.
For Juliane, the difficulty was building an argument that highlighted the importance of the public health system and presented solutions, instead of focusing the text on criticism of the functioning of the service.
Salesperson Maria Eugenísia de Souza Alves, 63 years old, had a different assessment of the essay's topic. She considered the current proposal and highlighted the importance of the services offered free of charge by the public health system, especially for people who depend on continuous treatments and medications.
"It's a very current topic. We were talking precisely about this in politics. We have people with various diseases, who undergo treatments, people who are amputees. We cannot lose the SUS. Our system is free, there is distribution of medicines, there are so many good things", he stated.
Before entering the test sites, students also spoke to g1 about their preparation and plans to use their Enem score. At 18 years old, Ana Emanuele said she studied the content covered in the exam and also researched cut-off scores and selection criteria to increase her chances of getting a place at a university.
She intends to use the score to apply for a scholarship through Prouni and study physiotherapy. According to the student, the test requires preparation and confidence in the subjects studied.
"I don't expect it to be easy, because it's an elimination test, basically to eliminate candidates. It's about being aware of what you studied, confident in what you studied, getting in there, doing your best and hoping for a good result," he said.
Student Henrique Adriel, 17 years old, stated that he felt prepared, although he was nervous before starting the test. He said that he paid special attention to writing and intends to use the grade to apply for a place in engineering at Prouni.
The expectation also involves family members. Nelma Bastos de Sousa, mother of Davi de Sousa, 17, said she was more anxious than her son before the exam. A student at Dom Bosco School, he has been preparing for the Enem since the first years of his school life.
"I think I'm more nervous than him. He's calm, calm, and I'm shaking. He does very well. He studies at Dom Bosco, there he prepares from the first grade to the third year of high school," he said.
The second day of Enem 2026 tests will be held next Sunday (15). Candidates will answer mathematics and natural science questions. In Amazonas, around 114 thousand students are registered to take the exam.
For the first time, Manaus City Hall offered free public transport to Enem candidates on the two application days: November 8th and 15th. The free service remained valid from 7am to 8pm, exclusively on conventional public transport buses in the capital.
To use the benefit, the candidate must present the Enem registration card and an official document with photo when entering the bus. The measure does not apply to alternative vehicles, known as "yellow ones".
