During his period in charge of CAPES and INEP, Anísio made a great many speeches throughout the country, which caused him trouble and persecution. His book "Educação não é um privilégio" (Education is not a Privilege), published in May 1957, was both acclaimed and criticised. It had been written out of an assessment of his own experience as educator, also to be found in "A Educação e a crise brasileira" (Education and the Brazilian Crisis) (1956).

The publication of Education is not a privilege, amidst the discussions on the Guidelines and Bases for National Education Law, was part of a confrontation among liberal and catholic educators, and owners of private schools concerning the future of education in the country. As the polemic heated, southern bishops, led by Monsignor Vicente Scherer, launched a document, where the stakes of confessional catholic teaching were articulated.