The purpose of the article is to discuss the challenges that are faced in the task of building the national education system in the context of the Plan for the Development of Education, an issue that has come back under the spotlight by initiative of the Ministry of Education. Based on the inaccuracies and confusion that prevail in this area, the discussion begins with the meaning of the expression 'national system' itself, as based on its historical configuration. It then approaches the theme, i.e., the hurdles that must be overcome to build the system, which are grouped in four modes: economics, translated in the traditional and persistent resistance to maintaining public education in Brazil; political, expressed by the lack of continuity in educational reform initiatives; ideological, represented by ideas and interests that are contrary to the national education system; and legal, involving the resistance against the approval of legislation that may make organizing education as a national system in our country viable.
national system; education; plan; financing; legislation