Buenos Aires Province Defends Public Universities Amidst National Budget Cuts
buenos Aires Province is stepping up to support its public universities, allocating important provincial funds to counteract national budget reductions that threaten higher education infrastructure and accessibility. The provincial government highlights its commitment to social mobility through education, contrasting it with what it describes as a national “adjustment” impacting the university system.
Provincial officials presented data indicating a substantial increase in access to higher education for lower-income segments of the population over the past 25 years. According to figures presented by Bianco, who oversees the province’s university relations, the participation of the poorest quintile in higher education rose from 8.3% to 21.2%. Furthermore, 42.3% of current university students come from the four lowest deciles, and enrollment in universities within the Buenos Aires conurbation grew by 240% between 2005 and 2023.
The provincial government asserts that national transfers to universities have decreased by 25% in real terms in 2024. They also point to a drastic reduction in the National Government’s investment in university infrastructure, from 23 billion pesos to just 4 billion pesos. This has reportedly led to the paralysis of 119 planned works, 38 of which were in Buenos Aires Province. In response, the province has committed nearly 27 billion pesos to resume 21 of these projects, including a classroom and laboratories project at the National University of Quilmes (UNQ) valued at 2 billion pesos, slated to begin in 2026.
Costa, another provincial official, emphasized the province’s investment in reactivating projects previously abandoned by the national government. He stated, “Without science there is no future,” and highlighted provincial initiatives such as the “Puentes” program, which has invested 22 billion pesos to establish 37 new university centers across 80 municipalities, benefiting over 10,000 students.Additionally, the subsidized educational ticket, with an investment of 38 billion pesos benefiting one million students, aims to ensure university students’ access and continued enrollment.
bianco, also a professor at UNQ, reiterated the university’s role as a primary driver of upward social mobility, stating, “Milei’s adjustment impacts public works, health and security. We from the province say: endure the public university.”
The Rector of UNQ added that in 2024, Argentina had the lowest university investment in Latin America, with teaching salaries falling below the cost of a single day of study. This situation, he explained, was the reason for the university community’s mobilization.”We need more financing and we will continue fighting,” the Rector declared.
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