The article treats democratization of higher education understood as a process which entirely takes place with the conclusion of the courses by the students, keeping as privileged target the inclusion of the subordinated social layers. It also demonstrates that, although the enormous majority of our students do work, the public policy and Brazilian legislation do not contemplate the specificity of this situation, making the permanence of the student-worker and the worker-student in the university very difficult. Besides, it brings this matter to discussion focusing in an evening course offered by Federal Institutions of Higher Education, which find themselves in process of expansion, supposedly inclusive. Ultimately, considering that the difficulties of conciliation between the studies and work activities are also faced by public policy in other countries, this article highlights the Portuguese and Cuban cases about the subject as a way to guide possible routes to this dilemma in our country.
Higher education; Democratization; Social inclusion; Work; Study
