At the other end of the education journey there is space for less than 20% of all students in Brazil's highly regarded public universities - the rest pay fees for qualifications of variable quality.
In theory, the Government gives black and white teachers equal pay for equal qualifications, but since white teachers are better prepared, they make more money.
Without adequate pay, raising requirements for qualifications can result in little more than meaningless credentials.
In response to this demand and to improve their chances at getting on a career path, some job seekers have resorted to paying for fake qualifications.
"I get just over £20,000 a year being in London and I don't have to pay for the professional qualifications.
"We told them we are willing to pay for their coaching qualifications and additional CPD but then they have to give back 'x' amount of hours per week.
She is paying for her qualification herself, so needed to keep working full time.
Robert Di Matteo paid for non-qualification for this stage with his job at Chelsea, but in such a rarified atmosphere, the failures match the rewards.
The determinants for the outcome were the size of the centers providing the service, quality improvement program, presence of a night-time intensivist in the hospital, pay-for-performance, and workload and qualifications of nurses.
Increasing pay for teachers with STEM qualifications would also help, though remuneration has never been the main attraction that has drawn talented people to teaching as Finland's experience so amply demonstrates.
When many top programmes cost students upwards of $100,000, a few extra thousand dollars spent on international flights seems like a small price to pay for a career-changing qualification, even if you have to endure the indignity of row-by-row boarding.
