Argentina. The challenge of making XXI century education
Since the early 90's, the education system in Argentina is spread over three levels, which in turn contains cycles: first, the initial level, second or EGB EGB, which is divided into 3 cycles (Cycle 1 of 6 years which is the basic learning stage of reading, writing and mathematics and cycles 2 and 3, each of three years to make post-compulsory secondary education) and third, higher level university non-university.
live in Argentina more than 13 million children and adolescents. According to official data of 2001 presented by Argentina in its 2005 Country Report about compliance the Millennium Development Goals in the General Education Basic 1 and 2 would be recorded almost universal enrollment rates (98.1 percent) while the level 3 rate fell almost 20 percentage points (78.4 per cent .) It is in this last cycle, as occurs with the initial level, where inequality between geographical regions of major importance, reaching a difference of 25 percentage points.
The odds of completing the EGB of those living in Greater Buenos Aires (74.9 percent) are much higher than that of those living in disadvantaged areas like the northeast of Argentina (49.7 percent) or Northwest (58.2 percent). The graduation rate of full GBS is 65.7 percent, which shows clearly the difficulties of the education system to successfully retain all their students.
children of school age, almost 10 percent is not going to school, while 245 thousand students, is that 2 out of 10 young school-leavers. Taking the Gaza
aged 15 to 24, in 100, 71 percent (equivalent to 2,234,644 youth) is in situation of educational risk, ie having large statistical probability of being marginalized or excluded -in different ways and to varying degrees-of social, political or based on the level formal education achieved in the current sociopolitical and economic conditions imposed.
According to 2001 census data conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC), would be 3,486,358 people who did not complete the primary level (required level considered prior to the Federal Law of Education).
The percentage of illiterates "pure" in the population aged 10 years, according to the same census INDEC, reaches 2.61 percent, which is to say 767,027 people.
Since 1993, public education in Argentina was governed by the so-called Federal Education Act, a law that was politically consistent with the prevailing neoliberal model in the 90's and led to the progressive destruction of the national public education system.
This law was put into practice as part of a package of measures from international lending agencies, especially the World Bank, who in a document of 1991 proposed the decentralization of public education and the promotion of private school and relocation of part of the financial burden of educating the State to the beneficiaries, ie students and their families.
The precariousness of public buildings, the devaluation of the teaching, the lack of budget and the worrying rates dropout, went together to a school that should be cheap labor to a labor market that was shrinking as the economy opened.
Today, 13 years later, the national government, through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology took a major step forward by proposing that the law is discussed and reformulated. But the methodology and timing raised from the Ministry of Education plaguing called sectors and not conducive to the central debate at this juncture: what education wants Argentina.
The opportunity to discuss about the national education was presented as a promising possibility for the general public and social organizations and unions that had finally found a place to dump their concerns and needs.
"We know it is in the field of education which foreshadows the future of countries and the welfare of future generations. Only a high quality education for all people will achieve the goals of social justice, economic growth and democratic citizenship that guide a strategy of sustainable development. " This is affirmed at the beginning of the first two chapters of a document of the new Federal Education Law prepared by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Argentine submitted for consideration to organizations teachers and the general public.
The May 22 presidential decree was signed and launched the preparatory discussion of the new National Education Law. During the rest of the month of May during consultations developed institutions and experts, while June proceeded to start the general debate, opinion polls and workshops in schools, while in July the contributions and systematized information available. In August, carried out the first draft of the bill, which will be put to consideration of institutions and specialists in a new phase of consultations during the month of September. The final wording and the elevation of the bill to Congress of the Nation is projected for October.
But for various sectors of organized civil society, this possibility was faced with many ideological and methodological flaws: among other criticisms, it highlights the textual repetition of whole sections of the old Federal Education Law in the new document and the government claim resolved in the course of 5 months of debate a new law to mount on his back thirteen years of sustained destruction of public schools and reduced the prospects for present and future generations of boys and girls.
Moreover, the basic document to be submitted to discussions in schools in institutional days not released in advance and was distributed primarily through electronic systems, leaving out those who were excluded from the media. Financing
growing
Another government measure that tends recently willing to repair the system was the enactment of the "Law on Education Financing (No. 26,075), which provides increased funding for education, science and technology to achieve equivalent to 6 percent of gross domestic product by 2010. The research
"New Rules, Old Problems in Youth and Adult Education", its authors Maria Teresa Sirvent, Amanda Toubes, Sandra Llosa and Paula topass argue that "the document circulated by the Ministry of Education (...) is an" timeless ", ie, its content seems to have been written in a vacuum situation and historical time" since the only quantitative data which is designated as anchor of reality, is where it says that "in the coming years, and ensure compulsory education to new generations, we face the challenge of educating more than a million adults who did not in his childhood or youth, which justifies legal rules give this issue special attention. " But the researchers point out that only data is confusing, misleading and insufficient to diagnose the severity of the educational poverty of nearly 70 percent of young people and adults who were expelled from school.
A survey conducted by the Education portfolio in all provinces reveals that the end of July were 750 000 teachers who participated in the debate by the new Law on Education, held in most of the 44,000 educational institutions in Argentina.
To organize the discussion were proposed courses of action which should be directed to the new law: ensuring that everyone has access and remain in the educational system tend to a unified structure for the whole country, to achieve the mandatory secondary education, universal preschool, offering new opportunities for those who have not completed their compulsory education, ensure equal access and retention for people with special needs, ensure quality and equity of learning, content periodically renewed, offer comprehensive training, to recover the centrality of learning, ensuring access to a second language, guaranteeing the right to learn and master new information technologies, strengthen the educational role of mass media, to promote education at distances beyond borders, provide educational television channel, put the governance of education the service quality objectives for all.
The national education portfolio so far received contributions from 300 organizations, including teachers and labor unions, universities, students, businessmen, religious organizations, indigenous peoples, private education institutions and social organizations working in education-for development of the new law. Among others who joined the discussion include the Industrial Union of Argentina, the Confederation of Education Workers of Argentina, the General Confederation of Labour, Aboriginal communities, the Argentine Union of Private Teachers, Fundación del Viso, the Board Coordinator of Private Education Associations, Argentina Campaign for the Right to Education, the Confederation of Teachers Argentinos, Argentinos Teachers Union, the Teachers Guild Autoconvocados and the Council of Catholic Education.
Meanwhile, religious leaders, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Protestants and Orthodox Bishops meeting in the days before Argentina took delivery of a ten-point document to the Minister of Education asking the staff that the new law guarantees the inclusion of more sectors disadvantaged.
addition, according to official figures were more than 50 thousand citizens who felt on the draft of the new Education Act, responding to a questionnaire available at street stalls installed in major cities.
source: http://www.educacionenvalores.org/article.php3?id_article=1019
