Argentina - Reallocating resources for the improvement of education

ReaRoct'hp, esorce fr the Hmprovememt of lEducat'non ''-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~,! mffi27-  A WORLD BANK COUNTRY STUDY Argentina Reallocating Resources for the Improvement of Education The World Bank Washington, D.C.  Copyright i 1991 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/THE WORLD BANK 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America First printing January 1991 World Bank Country Studies are among the many reports originally prepared for internal use as part of the continuing analysis by the Bank of the economic and related conditions of its developing member countries and of its dialogues with the governments. Some of the reports are published in this series with the least possible delay for the use of governments and the academic, business and financial, and development communities. The typescript of this paper therefore has not been prepared in accordance with the procedures appropriate to formal printed texts, and the World Bank accepts no responsibility for errors. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequence of their use. Any maps that accompany the text have been prepared solely for the convenience of readers; the designations and presentation of material in them do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the World Bank, its affiliates, or its Board or member countries concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or of the authorities thereof or concerning the delimitation of its boundaries or its national affiliation. The material in this publication is copyrighted. Requests for permission to reproduce portions of it should be sent to Director, Publications Department, at the address shown in the copyright notice above. The World Bank encourages dissemination of its work and will normally give permission promptly and, when the reproduction is for noncommercial purposes, without asking a fee. Permission to photocopy portions for classroom use is not required, though notification of such use having been made will be appreciated. The complete backlist of publications from the World Bank is shown in the annual Index of Publications, which contains an alphabetical title list (with full ordering information) and indexes of subjects, authors, and countries and regions. The latest edition is available free of charge from the Publications Sales Unit, Department F, The World Bank, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A., or from Publications, The World Bank, 66, avenue d'Iena, 75116 Paris, France. ISSN: 0253-2123 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kugler, Bernardo. Argentina: reallocatlng resources for the Improvement of educatlon. p. cm. -- (A World Bank country study) Report prepared by Bernardo Kugler and Robert McMeekin. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8213-1752-0 -1-. Education--Economic aspects--Argentina. 2. Education- -Argentina. 3. Education and state--Argentina. 4. Educational change--Argentlna. I. McMeekl'n, Robert W. II. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. III. Title. IV. Series. LC67.A7K84 1991 370'.982--dc20 90-26012 CIP  - iii - COUNTRY DATA Currency Equivalence Currency Unit: Austral US$1.00 - 2.145 Australes (1987) Fiscal Year January 1 - December 31 School Year March - December Population Total: 31.1 million (1986) Growth Rate: 1.6Z per year Literacy Rate 95Z (1980) School System Primary: 7 years Secondary: 4-7 years (mode: 5 years) Higher: 3-6 years Net Enrollment Rates (as of 1980) Ages 7-12 : 95% Ages 13-18 : 53% Ages 18-24 : 10%  - iv - GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS CIN Consejo Inter-Universitario Nacional CFE Consejo Federal de Educaci6n CFI Consejo Federal de Inversiones CONET Consejo Nacional de Educaci6n Tecnica CRUP Consejo de Rectores de Universidades Privadas DIGAE Direcci6n General de Arquitectura Educacional ECIEL Estudios Conjuntos de Integraci6n Econ6mica Latinoamericana FIEL Fundaci6n de Investigaciones Econ6micas Latinoamericanas FLACSO Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales INDEC Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos MEJ Ministerio de Educaci6n y Justicia PAN Programa de Alimentaci6n Nacional UBA Universidad de Buenos Aires UNDP United Nations Development Program UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization  - v - TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................. viii I. BACKGROUND ................................................... 1 II. ISSUES ....................................................... 6 Quality of Primary Education ................................. 6 Organization and Role of Secondary Education .... ............. 12 The Explosive Growth of Higher Education ..................... 16 Education Finance ............................................ 19 III. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................... 25 Equitable Access to Primary Education of Good Quality .... .... 25 Decentralization of Secondary Education ...................... 28 Relevance and Efficiency of Higher Education .... ............. 30 Use of Education Finance to Achieve Equity and Cost-Efficiency 31 IV. PROGRAMS FOR THE EDUCATION SECTOR ............................ 33 Primary Education ............................................ 33 Secondary Education .......................................... 35 Higher Education ............................................. 36 Education Finance ............................................ 37 V. AN INVESTMENT PLAN .40 LIST OF REPORTS COMPLETED BY MEJ ................................... 44 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............ ........................................... 45 ANNEXES 1. Comparative Education Indicators ............ .. ............ 48 2. Education Attainment of Population ........... .. ........... 51 3. Distribution of the Population ............. .. ............. 53 4. Completion Rates, 1950-80, Primary Education .............. 54 5. An Evaluation of Education in Buenos Aires ....... .. ....... 55 6. Pupil-Teacher Ratio ....... .............. .................. 56 7. Expenditures by Cooperadoras ..... ......................... 59 8. Evolution of Enrollments by Education Level .............. . 60 9. Completion Rates, 1951-79, Secondary Education ............ 61 10. Secondary Education Completion Ratios .......... .. ......... 62 11. Teacher Dedication ....... .............. ................... 63 12. Rates of Return to Education .............................. 65 13. Education and Income Distribution ............ .. ........... 66 14. Actual Expenditures as Percent of Budget ........ .. ........ 67  - vi - TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Page No. ANNEXES (Continued) 15. Total Expenditures in Education ........................... 68 16. National Government ........... ... ............................ . ...... . 69 17. Primary Education Teacher Monthly Salaries ................ 71 18. Public Expenditure Per Student/Year .... ................... 77 19. Total Public Expenditure on Education ..................... 79 20. Primary Education Expenditures ..... ....................... 83 21. Education Sector Organization Chart .... ................... 86  - vii - PREFACE This report is based on the findings of studies carried out by the Government of Argentina and the World Bank with the use of funds provided by the Ministerio de Educaci6n y Justicia (MEJ), UNDP, and Loan 2984-AR. The study was carried out under the direction of Mr. Bernardo Kugler, who has prepared this report with Mr. Robert McMeekin. An Argentine team at the Ministry of Education conducted extensive primary research under the coordination of Messrs. Humberto Petrei and Jose Cartas. A list of the papers produced by this team appears at the end of the text. The study was designed during a mission in August 1987 and the main mission took place in April 1988. Assistance support for this report was provided by Ms. Luisa Gomez-Castellanos. Secretarial support of this final version was carried out by Ms. Lien-Hiep Nguyen. The study was completed and discussed with representatives of the Government in December 1988. Subsequent discussions took place with the new administration, which has approved publication by the Bank. Although the data presented are those available at that time, the relevance of the issues presented in this document persists.  - viii - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background 1. Argentina has historically had one of the most highly developed education systems in the region. General socio-economic conditions have clearly affected the education sector, and the impact has been negative during the debt and inflation crises of recent years. The capacity of the education system to function has been severely reduced. (1.1) 2. Argentina has had the lowest population growth rates in the region and hence has not faced exceptional pressures for expansion of enrollment, except for two boom periods in higher education enrollment, one in the seventies and the other in the mid-eighties. Education expenditure by the central Government has also grown at a moderate pace. Argentina's public sector was devoting 2.5 percent of GNP to education in the early sixties. More recently the figure has risen to between 3 and 4 percent. Private education expenditures are under 2 percent of GNP. Thus education expenditures are below regional and other international standards. (1.2-1.4) 3. Issues arising in the education sector are usually associated with equitable access to education services. A related issue is federal/provincial relations. The devolution of primary education to the provinces that tookc place in 1978 is the single most important sector change in several decades, but this change has still not been fully assimilated. The equity issue has different manifestations when considered in the context of primary, secondary or higher education. And the characteristics of other important issues, such as, for instance, capacity to manage a decentralized education system, may differ among provinces depending on their degree of development. (1.5-1.6) Issues 4. The education sector suffers from poor performance and inadequate resources. There is dissatisfaction with the quality of education, with the central ministry's lack of capacity to manage specific programs, with the lack of direction of some programs, and with the way in which resources from the federal government are allocated. This report focuses on four issues of highest priority: (a) the quality of primary education; (b) the organization and role of secondary education; (c) the explosive growth of higher education; and (d) education sector finance and resource mobilization. (2.1) 5. Quality of Primary Education. There are conflicting views about whether the 1978 devolution of primary education has resulted in a full fledged decentralized subsystem. There is little doubt, however, that the provinces are now responsible for delivering primary education to all children and will retain this responsibility. In this context the main issue confronted by the provinces refers to providing all children with adequate access to primary education of good quality. The main issue confronted by the federal Ministry of Education and Justice (MEJ) is promoting and stimulating the appropriate provincial role in managing primary education. (2.2)  - ix - 6. With some 95 percent of the school-age population enrolled, Argentina does not face a problem of lack of access to education. The five percent of children not enrolled represent children in remote rural areas, in absolute poverty or with special needs, all of whom require specialized interventions. The more serious problems are repetition and wastage, which are associated with school quality as well as with economic issues outside sectoral control. The primary school completion ratio is 54 percent, which is low in itself, but this average masks the much lower rate (30 percent) in rural areas and in many poorer provinces. The lack of a comprehensive assessment system makes it difficult to analyze the quality issue, but the consensus that quality has deteriorated (or at best remained constant) is consistent with the observed decline in real spending per student. (2.3-2.7) 7. With regard to management of primary level, the provinces have attempted with varying degrees of success to meet the challenge of managing and financing their new responsibilities. The central government has not yet developed an appropriate federal role in managing the subsector. At the heart of the matter is educational finance. Completion ratios, achievement scores and expenditure per student vary directly with provincial per capita income. Addi- tional resources will be required to improve quality in the poorer provinces. There are opportunities for improvements in efficiency and effectiveness. Teachers' workloads are low, as are student/teacher ratios. MEJ can aid provinces in managing more efficiently. An example is an ongoing inventory of physical infrastructure. (2.8-2.11). 8. OrRanization and Role of Secondary Education. MEJ's main responsibi- lity at present is the delivery of secondary education programs. However, MEJ's share in secondary education enrollment has decreased, while the provinces have increased theirs. Vocationally-oriented secondary schools account for about 60 percent of total enrollment, an exceptionally high share. The rapid growth of secondary school enrollment that has occurred in the past has changed its character; first, secondary education tends to become an education for all; and second, for a majority among those graduating, secondary education is less likely to be their terminal education. In spite of this, secondary education has changed little over the last 20 years. (2.12-2.14) 9. Many of the problems related to deterioration in quality of secondary education are similar to those described (paras. 6-7) for primary education. However, MEJ has only limited ability to address a number of urgent problems or basic issues as, for example, the very low student/teacher ratio. MEJ has conducted a national buildings inventory to assess needs for repair and maintenance. This activity should be extended to the provinces. The National Council of Technical Education (CONET), established in 1957 to provide vocational/technical education, has not been successful in implementing programs different from those offered by secondary vocational schools. In spite of the low rate of return of technical secondary education, CONET receives 11 percent of the federal education budget. (2.15-2.19)  10. The Explosive Growth of Higher Education. Over 300,000 new students were admitted to higher education between 1970 and 1975, and another increELse of similar proportions took place between 1983 and 1986. Such expansion has occurred without a corresponding proportional change in subsectoral finance. Neither have organizational and institutional changes taken place. Furthermore, public universities are free and entrance requirements were removed prior to the two explosive periods, without giving any consideration to the economic impact of expanded enrollment. As a result, higher education annual public expenditure per student has been under $500, approximately the same level of unit costsi as for primary and secondary education. Leading programs have been particularly endangered by the lack of resources. (2.20-2.21) 11. The existing general elements of higher education policy are insuffi- cient to arrest deterioration. Individual universities follow traditional organization patterns with separate Faculties. Each is responsible for one career, which usually has a rigid study program. Management problems are numerous while efficiency levels are low. These issues appear magnified at: Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), the largest in the Country. To alleviate pressure over scarce resources, UBA has introduced as an entrance requirement the approval of a one year general courses cycle. A consistent, comprehensive policy for higher education must take into account rates of return to higher education, which currently are at moderate levels, and their economic efficiency and equity implications. (2.22-2.26) 12. Education Finance. The federal government is responsible for a large portion of finance of secondary and higher education, while provincial govern- ments are responsible for almost all finance of primary education. Genera:L federal government revenue-sharing transfers account for about 80 percent of total provincial resources. The magnitude of these transfers has been historically a major source of conflict. The share of education expenditures in total public expenditures has hovered around 15 percent over the last 10 years, except for a steady decline in the period 1979-82. This reflects a decline of the education share in the federal budget together with an equivalent increase of the education share in total provincial expenditure. As a proportion of GNP education expenditure is now at about 3.5 percent, which is a moderate level by international and regional standards. In spite of the apparent long-term stability, public expenditure in education has experienced wide short-term fluctuations in the last 25 years. (2.27-2.28) 13. Costs per student for primary education are especially high by regional standards, but the opposite is true in the case of higher education. Wide fluctuations have also been common, but they do not reflect quantitative or even qualitative short-term changes. They are mostly determined by changes in real salaries associated with public sector financial instability. If average salaries are low, as is frequently claimed, high costs are due to inefficiencies in the use of resources such as, for example, having too low student/teacher ratios. (2.29-2.32)  - xi - Policy Recommendations 14. The issues raised require decisive action from the federal and provincial governments to arrest the deterioration which has been occurring in the education sector and to improve sector performance even durlng the ongoing difficult period. The table below shows the set of proposed policies with the respective programs which will help in achieving the desired objectives. (3.1) POLICY THE PROGRAMS Equitable access to primary Finance school lunches and education materials to education of good quality children of low income families. Establish salary incentives to attract good teachers to poor areas. Assist Cooperadoras. Establish the National Assessment System of Education in MEJ. Establish the National Technical Assistance Service in MEJ. Establish/Strengthen provincial management/ programming capacity (MIS-inventory of physical facilities). Decentralization of secondary Complete inventory of physical facilities and education implement investment plan for delivery of an adequate infrastructure to provinces. Prepare the decentralization plan based on experience. Establish federal functions at MEJ (experimen- tal quality improvement program). Modernize and adjust vocational/technical educa- tion programs to actual needs, in coordination with users. Recover relevance of higher Strengthen subsector management at the national education level. Establish a national independent assessment agency. Modernize the academic organization of universi- ties. Establish integrated provincial systems of higher education. Allocate finance in accordance Create economic analysis capacity. with equity and cost- Extend revenue sharing arrangements, in accordance efficiency criteria with national objectives. Establish access of provinces and universities to investment funds. Provide incentives for higher education institu- tions to mobilize additional resources from the beneficiaries of higher education (students) and non-federal government resources, which may be stimulated by federal contributions given as matching funds.  - xii - 15. Equitable Access to Primary Education of Good Quality. This policy places less emphasis on physical access to school places than on equity and quality of education. Access problems require actions by the provincial sector authorities and, in many cases, by social welfare agencies. Children of poor families need incentives to stay in school. Three main strategies proposed under this policy are: targeting public resources on the poor, setting standards of quality, and providing technical assistance to the provinces for improving quality and efficiency. (3.2-3.8) 16. Decentralization of Secondary Education. There exists consensus about the desirability of decentralizing secondary education. Some straightforward lessons arising from the primary education devolution in the areas of planning and management can be useful in preparing for a successful and orderly decentralization of secondary education. The provinces are concerned mainly about the additional funds they will need to take over responsibility for the national secondary schools. The strategies proposed to progress towards this end are: preparing the decentralization action program, and reassessing--and establishing the new functions corresponding to--the roles of the MEJ and of the technical/vocational education system. (3.9-3.13) 17. Relevance and Efficiency of Higher Education. A higher education policy should address organizational and institutional problems, the shortage of economic resources and great political sensitivity. Such a policy should arise from explicitly debating and addressing these problems. The debate should lead to the definition of the bases for the strategies of: reassessing the objectives of higher education, structuring and organizing the subsector, and modernizing the universities. (3.14-3.19) 18. Use of Education Finance to Achieve Equity and Cost-Efficiency. The present allocation of finance in the education sector is the result of a series of emergency measures taken in the past to address ever-mounting, conflicting pressures. The outcome is a sector in disarray. The strategies stated in paras. 15-17 should help to improve the impact of the resources spent in the sector. To complement them, financial strategies should emphasize: targeting federal resources for primary education, agreeing on the financial arrangements for the decentralization of secondary education, and mobilizing new resources for higher education. (3.20-3.23) Programs for the Education Sector 19. The following action programs deal with the issues and problems identified in four areas: the three levels of primary, secondary and higher education, and the cross-cutting issue of sector finance that affects the sector as a whole and its management. Although the proposed programs represent feasible and desirable courses of action, the level of consensus about them within the Country, and their policy readiness, varies considerably. (4.1-4.2)  - xiii - 20. Primary Education. Programs for primary education are addressed to establishing an appropriate federal role, including federal involvement to promote equity in a decentralized system. The following activities are proposed: (i) strengthening provincial education management, with more developed provinces handling the processes directly and MEJ assisting other provinces; (ii) establishing a national system of educational assessment managed by MEJ which includes setting standards and norms, an achievement testing system, and feedback for subsectoral improvement; (iii) establishing a technical assistance function in MEJ; (iv) providing subsidies to finance learning materials for poor children; (v) targeting school lunches to poor children; (vi) establishing incentives for mobilizing good teachers to serve in disadvantaged areas; and (vii) assisting cooperadoras to increase their effectiveness. (4.3-4.10) 21. Secondary Education. The following programs proposed for secondary education are expected to lay the groundwork for decentralization: (i) preparing a decentralization plan, consolidating previous efforts, explicitly dealing with short- and long-term financial issues, including the division of responsibilities between federal and provincial authorities, and the future of technical/vocational education; (ii) establishing federal functions in MEJ as those discussed in para. 20; (iii) completing the inventory of educational facilities; and (iv) implementing investments in infrastructure by both national and provincial authorities. (4.11-4.15) 22. Higher Education. The following higher education programs should be geared toward building consensus and preparing the way for future improvement: (i) strengthening subsector management, including effective planning and governance; (ii) establishing an independent assessment agency; and (iii) modernizing university management to increase efficiency and eliminate duplication. (4.16-4.19) 23. Education Finance. The programs in this section provide the necessary policy and financial support to the programs proposed in paras. 20-22: (i) creating economic analysis capacity in MEJ and at the level of higher education and provincial institutions; (ii) extending revenue-sharing arrange- ments to give appropriate support to the decentralized sectoral organization; (iii) developing capacity for lending to national sector institutions other than MEJ; and (iv) mobilizing additional resources from sources other than the central government budget, including private users and non-federal government resources, and stimulating them with the existing federal contributions. (4.20-4.24) An Investment Plan 24. The principal elements in the sector strategy include: decentraliza- tion of the remaining service-delivery activities of the MEJ, improvements in management and institutional capacities, qualitative strengthening, efficiency improvements and generation of additional resources for the sector. Education finance should receive high priority to increase sector efficiency and promote equity and growth. To keep public sector spending on education at its current level of 3.5 percent of GNP the annual education budget must grow by approxi- mately $127 million per annum during the period 1990-94 to follow the recommended path. (5.1-5.3)  - xiv - 25. An investment program besides continuing to support activities initiated under the Bank's Social Sector Technical Assistance Loan (2984-AR) should facilitate implementation of the measures proposed in this sector study. Institutional strengthening will require continuing technical assistance. Qualitative improvement, including a national education assessment system, will be a cornerstone. Infrastructure investment will start by upgrading the federal facilities that are to be transferred to the provinces. Capital funds for on- lending to provinces (and higher education institutions) will allow lending operations adapted to Argentina's federal context. And policy based lending can support the government's adoption of feasible, equitable and economically sound policies and practices. (5.4-5.11)  I. BACKGROUND 1.1 Argentina, having been historically the most developed country in the region, has also had the most highly developed education system. This is the result of an educational tradition initiated by President Sarmiento in the 1853 Constitution, which contained a reformulation of education as the key element to overcome poverty and unify the country. While the education system continued to evolve in consonance with the general socioeconomic process, it has also been marked by vicissitudes associated with the difficult times that the country has experienced. A new constitution approved in 1949 made important references to education, but this was abolished in 1955 and the 1853 Constitution reestablish- ed. Reforms for modernizing the structure of education, proposed and approved in 1968-70, were halted in 1971. And the recent economic crisis is having a profound impact on the operative capacity of the education system. The single most important change in several decades, the devolution of primary education to the provinces that took place in 1978, needs important adjustments in order to be consolidated as the foundation of a new education system in Argentina. 1.2 By mid-century Argentina's population had achieved goals that most countries in the region have not achieved even in the present decade (see Table 1.1 and Annex Table 2b). Illiteracy was under 10 percent and the compulsory character of school attendance until age 14 was fairly actively enforced. For the last 50 years, Argentina has had lower population growth rates than other countries in the region and hence has not faced exceptional pressures for expansion of enrollment in its education system, except for two boom periods in higher education enrollment, one in the seventies and another in the mid-eighties (see Table 1.2). 1.3 Consistent with this relatively moderate enrollment expansion and with its moderate economic performance over the last three decades, education finance in Argentina has also evolved at a more moderate pace than in other countries in the region. Argentina's public sector was devoting about 2.5 percent of GNP to education in the early sixties, when most countries in the region were spending under 2 percent. More recently the figure has risen to between 3 and 4 percent in Argentina, while most countries in the region are spending between 4 and 6 percent. Private education expenditures in education are under 2 percent of GNP. Thus, Argentina, in spite of ranking second among Latin American countries in per capita income, is well below the education expenditure standards prevail- ing both, in the region and in industrial countries (see Annex 1). 1.4 Argentina is a federal republic consisting of 22 provinces and two special divisions, the federal capital and Tierra del Fuego. (The term "provinces" will be used in a broad sense to include the two special divisions as well.) The 1853 Constitution prescribes elected national and provincial governments. There are both national and provincial ministries of education or equivalent institutions (see Annex 21 for a description of the organization of the education sector). Although the degree of economic development varies according to regions and provinces (see Annex 3), regional differences in Argentina's education system are less pronounced than in other countries in the  - 2 - Table 1.1 Distribution of the Population by Education Attain.ant 1980 Population Attending/Attended School (Percent) Il literate Age Croup Population Primary Secondary Non-University Univeroity Total Incompl . ConpI Total IncompI Compl . Total Incomp I. CompI. Total IncompI Copl. 14-19 3 0/ 46 1 22.0 24.2 50 5 46 8 3.7 1 1 1 1 - 2.2 2.2 - 20-24 3 2 48.9 17 3 31 5 36.1 20 8 15.3 4.0 2.6 1 4 11.0 10.2 0.8 25-29 3 9 54 8 20 9 33.9 30 9 16 7 14.2 3 0 1 0 1 9 11 4 7 2 4 2 30-34 4 7 60 0 25 5 34.5 28 8 14.7 14.1 2 3 0.6 1.7 9 0 4 0 .5 0 35-39 5 2 65 0 29 7 35 4 26 2 13.6 12 6 1.6 0 4 1 2 7 2 2 9 4 3 40-44 5.6 69.6 32 9 36.7 23.7 11 9 11.8 1 1 0.2 0.9 5.6 2.3 3.3 45-49 5 9 75 0 37.3 37 6 19 6 9 7 9.9 1.0 0.2 0.6 4.4 1.7 2.7 50-54 6 6 78 3 41 2 37 1 17.1 8 1 9 0 1 0 0.2 0 9 3 6 1.3 2 3 55-59 7 7 80 3 44 2 36 1 15 7 7 3 8.4 0.9 0 1 0 a 3 0 1 0 2 0 60* 12 2 84.2 50 8 33 4 12 6 5 9 6.7 0 7 0.1 0 6 2 4 0 6 1.8 a/ 15-19 age group Source Population Census 1980, Table E 1 and Table E 6  Table 1.2 Enrollment Evolution and Annual Growth Rates by Levels Of Education: 1961-1988 Level of Education Primary Secondary Higher Non-University University Year Enroilment Annual Growth Enrollment Annual Growth EnrolIment Annual Growth Enrollment Annual Growth (000) (X) (000) (X) (000) (X) (000) M 1961 - - 608.0 - 19.0 - 160.0 - - 6.4 - 6.8 - 7.2 1966 3,473.0 - 828.0 - 26.0 - 228.0 - - 1.1 - 4.2 - 11.0 - 1.2 1970 3,632.0 - 976.0 - 38.0 - 237.0 - - 0.9 - 6.0 - 9.8 - 17.8 1975 3,806.0 - 1,243.0 - 80.0 - 637.0 - - 1.6 - 1.3 - 9.4 - -5.8 1980 4,111.0 - 1,327.0 - 94.0 - 398.0 - - 3.2 - 4.9 - 14.1 - 12.2 1985 4,812.0 - 1,684.0 - 182.0 - 864.0 - - 4.9 - 7.5 - 7.7 - 6.5 1986 5,050.0 - 1,810.0 - 198.0 - 707.0 - Source: 1961: FIEL (1985). 1988-1986: Education Sector Study a!/ a!/ The Education Sector Study Team at MEJ organized abundant sector information available at MEJ and also collected some basic information from provincial ministries and universities. In some cases we have further processed such information.  - 4 - region. While differences in primary education enrollment rates among provinces or between urban and rural regions are not dramatic (see Table 1.3), primary education completion rates range from the lowest rural ratios of under 20 percent in several provinces to the highest of 74 percent in Buenos Aires. Net enrollment rates in secondary education range from 26 percent in several provinces to 70 percent in Buenos Aires, and in higher education from under 5 percent in several provinces to 23 percent in Buenos Aires. 1.5 Important issues arising with respect to the education system in Argentina are usually associated with equitable access of persons from different income groups to education services and with the question of federal/provincial relations, which historically have been closely related to the overall equity issue as well. Thus, the issue of access to the different education levels in different places has an important equity component. So too do issues related to the quality of education, such as the deterioration that has accompanied sectoral expansion, and qualitative differences between regions, cities and schools. Although some issues are similar for different education levels, the central issue of equity of the education system in Argentina has differerLt manifestations when considered for primary, secondary or higher education. And the characteristics of other important issues may differ between provinces with different degrees of development, such as, for instance, capacity to manage a decentralized education system. 1.6 The three main education levels--primary, secondary and higher---are dealt with separately. Although this study will not analyze the situation of the education sector in each province in detail, when the available information permits, we attempt to differentiate the issues by broad categories of provinces. Main issues are discussed in the next Chapter; policy recommenda- tions appear in Chapter III; specific programs are proposed in Chapter IV; and Chapter V presents an investment plan.  - 6 - Table 1.3 Net Enrollment Rates by Level of Education and Jurisdiction, 1960 and 1980 (Percent) Primary Education Secondary Education Higher Education a/ Jurisdiction ( 6-12 years old) (13-17 years old) (20-24 years old) 1960 1980 1960 b/ 1980 1980 Argentina 96 91 24 42 10 Federal Capital 95 92 65 70 23 Buenos Aires Province - 92 - 36 3 - Greater Buenos Aires Counties 90 91 18 44 8 - Other Counties 84 92 22 44 9 Catamarca 86 89 16 40 6 Cordoba 89 92 23 47 13 Corrientes 75 87 13 29 9 Chaco 86 82 10 26 7 Chubit 75 82 1s 38 4 Entre Rios 74 91 17 41 6 Formosa 70 89 8 28 2 Jujuy 78 90 14 39 3 La Pampa 83 89 16 39 6 La Rioja 85 86 18 33 6 Mendoza 82 89 21 41 9 Misiones 79 89 8 26 4 Neuquen 71 90 10 28 4 Rio Negro 74 86 12 32 3 Salta 77 89 18 36 6 San Juan 83 90 15 45 8 San Luis 83 93 18 40 8 Santa Cruz 82 93 13 40 2 Santa Fe 86 91 28 44 10 Santiago del Estero 81 90 12 28 5 Tierra del Fuego 74 93 19 46 1 Tucuman 80 92 17 39 13 a/ Not available before 1980. b/ 13-19 years old group.- Source: 1960: Beccaria and Riquelme (1986). 1980: Estimated from Population Census 1980.  - 6 - II. ISSUES 2.1 In broad terms, although Argentina's education system is one of the best in Latin America, the sector suffers from poor performance and inadequate resources. More specifically, there is dissatisfaction with the quality of education, with the central ministry's lack of capacity to manage specific programs, with the lack of direction of some programs, and with the way in which resources from the federal government are allocated. These issues are felt with varying degrees of intensity at different education levels. Though there are many issues affecting the sector, this report focuses on only four, which are of the highest priority: (i) the quality of primary education; (ii) the organiza- tion and role of secondary education; (iii) the explosive growth of higher education; and (iv) education sector finance and resource mobilization. The fourth area is specific to particular education levels but also cuts across levels and, to some extent, transcends the sector. This Chapter discusses these issues, while later Chapters consider strategies for dealing with each. A. Quality of Primary Education 2.2 Responsibility for primary education was transferred to the provinces in 1978. There are conflicting views about the extent to which a decentraliza- tion in the full sense took place, but there is little doubt that the provinces are now responsible for delivering primary education to all children and will retain this responsibility. In this context, the main issue confronted by the provinces refers to providing all children with the adequate access to primary education of good quality. And the main issue confronted by the federal govern- ment is how to promote and stimulate the appropriate provincial role in managing primary education. 2.3 Access. Argentina has the highest enrollment ratios in the region (see Table 2.1 and Annex 1). Although only 63 percent of six-year olds enroll in grade one of the seven-year compulsory primary cycle, some 95 percent of the 7-12 age group corresponding to primary schooling is enrolled. The remaining 5 percent represents enrollment problems among the extremely poor in remote areas, or of special cases requiring carefully focused programs, with components that transcend the scope of the education sector. 2.4 Continuity. Dropping out from the system begins to be a problem at age 13 (13 percent leave school) and becomes serious for 14-year olds (25 percent). Only 54 percent of entrants were completing primary education in 1980, which means that, although Argentina does not appear to have a serious coverage problem, a substantial problem of repetition and wastage exists. The rough indicator of primary school gross completion rates shows a sustained improvement taking place until 1980, mostly due to lower drop-out rates without apparent improvements in repetition rates. In spite of this improvement, the 54 percent completion rate for the country as a whole includes a very low 30 percent: of the rural areas and masks much lower rates in the majority of provinces. Several provinces, in fact, show primary education completion rates similar to those  Table 2.1 Enrollment Ratio by Age and Level of Education: 1960-1980 (Percent) Age Primary Secondary Higher 1960 1980 1960 1980 1960 1980 6 58 63 7 83 95 8 88 96 9 90 96 10 90 96 11 89 96 12 84 93 13 53 55 20 31 14 28 28 29 47 15 29 49 16 26 43 17 21 40 18 12 22 19 5 11 20 4 a/ 12 21 12 22 10 23 9 24 8 a/ 20-24 age group. Source: Estimates based on the Population Census, 1960 and 1980.  - 8 - prevailing in other Latin American countries with low incomes (see Table 2.2 and Annexes 1 and 4). Repetition and wastage are related to the quality of the system and take a heavier toll on the poor by discouraging them to continues their education process. For example, on the one hand, textbooks and other learning materials have to be bought by parents. On the other hand, evaluations of school nutrition programs, while showing some marginal increases in attendance patterns of students, have failed to show any effects of attracting children of poor families into the school system, or of reducing their drop-out rates. 2.5 Quality Assessment. Internal efficiency measures such as the comple- tion rates presented in para. 2.4 provide a general impression of the quality prevailing in Argentina's primary education. In addition, besides the usual periodic classroom evaluations made by individual teachers, some more general evaluations have been conducted in several provinces but not in a systematic manner. One of the most comprehensive evaluations was carried out in the municipality of Buenos Aires in 1985. It found that achievement of curricular goals was poor (see Table 2.3 and Annex 5) and that the system lacked the dynamism needed to introduce successful changes in accordance with recent pedagogical advances. 2.6 A similar, sample-based evaluation of the degree to which seventh grade students had achieved curricular goals was conducted in Cordoba in 1983. Here again, the average scores were quite low: 52 percent in language, 42 percent in mathematics and 53 percent in social sciences on criterion referenced tests. Students in private schools scored slightly higher than public school students; schools in rural areas had lower scores than those in the provincial capital and its outskirts. Even the best students did not score above 90 percent on tests designed to assess whether they had gained the skills the subject curricula purported to teach. 2.7 Consensus prevails that the quality of education has deteriorated or at best remained constant without any improvements during the last decade. However, only recently are studies becoming available on the subject. The reduction in resources available to the subsector and their inefficient utiliza- tion provide supporting evidence in this direction. However, the lack of a comprehensive system of educational assessment contributes to obscuring the issue and impedes drafting the support required for implementing concrete proposals that would arrest the decay. Other indicators of quality are also of limited use. Information collected by the Statistics Office of MEJ was adequately processed until 1980. However, due in part to the decentralization of primary education and in part to MEJ staffing problems, processing of statis- tical data has deteriorated and even stalled. Only recently is some recovery being made. 2.8 Management. The provinces have confronted issues related with adequate management of quality education and the federal government has not assumed yet an appropriate role in the management of the subsector. There has been no comprehensive evaluation of the impact of the decentralization process.  - 9 - Table 2.2 Primary Education Completion Ratios by Jurisdiction: 1974-1980 Cohort (Percent) Jurisdiction Total Urban Rural Argentina 53.70 62.50 30.00 Federal Capital 74.20 74.20 Buenos Aires 69.70 70.10 62.10 - Greater Buenos Aires Counties 68.80 68.80 61.90 - Other Counties 71.10 72.60 62.10 Catamarca 41.80 55.70 29.90 C6rdoba 55.10 58.90 38.80 Corrientes 30.00 39.70 21.10 Chaco 30.60 44.50 16.30 Chubut 41.70 53.70 34.50 Entre Rios 42.80 50.70 28.30 Formosa 35.40 53.00 25.20 Jujuy 41.30 56.20 21.80 La Pampa 53.50 60.00 23.80 La Rioja 44.90 54.40 34.40 Mendoza 57.20 67.10 39.40 Misiones 30.00 44.70 21.30 Neuquen 38.00 47.40 21.40 Rio Negro 44.60 49.00 32.10 Salta 41.90 56.80 22.20 San Juan 51.00 51.30 50.40 San Luis 42.30 51.50 30.40 Santa Cruz 51.90 54.30 15.20 Santa Fe 58.50 63.00 35.20 Santiago del Estero 33.00 45.60 26.60 Tierra del Fuego 63.30 66.60 7.70 Tucuman 51.60 65.90 36.20 Source: Ministry of Education: Retenci6n y Deegranamiento Cohorte 1974-1980, Educaci6n Primaria Comuin  - 10 - Table 2.3 Primary Education Achievement of Oblectives by Grade and Curriculum Area a/ Curriculum Area 3rd Grade 5th Grade 7th Grade Language 51.5 46.4 Mathematics 46.5 43.2 41.7 Social Sciences 52.0 43.5 42.0 Natural Sciences 40.8 40.9 40.9 a/ Percentage of students achieving the objectives in each curriculum area. Source: Municipalidad de Buenos Aires: "El Perfil de los Aprendizajes Segun el Nivel de Logro de los Objetivos Curriculares, 1984-1985."  - 11 - However, all parties involved with the process indicate that in some provinces, especially the more-developed, the benefits of the decentralization were great enough to outweigh the loss of federal support for primary education. Partial evidence available supports this opinion. Per capita gross product figures by province for 1970 and 1980 provide one indicator of the relative degree of development of the provinces (see Annex 3). Nine provinces whose 1980 per capita incomes were under 3500 Australes of 1987 can be considered low income provinces: Catamarca, Corrientes, Chaco, Formosa, La Rioja, Misiones, Salta, San Juan, and Santiago del Estero. More affluent provinces such as Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Entre Rios, Mendoza, Rio Negro, and Santa Fe (as well as the capital) have impressive education sector organizations. Available indicators for student achievement (gross completion rates) and for expenditure per student at the provincial level, show high (correlation coefficients of .57 and .76, respectively) with provincial per capita income. In consequence, improving quality of primary education and reducing drop-out rates in the provinces with lowest income levels requires, besides better using the existing resources, mobilizing more financial resources. 2.9 Managing teacher staff and their career is a specially complex issue. Low teacher morale, reduced time teachers spend in the classroom, and slowness in adopting more modern teaching techniques are cited as the main causes of deterioration or stagnation in quality of primary education. Teacher salaries are low, a factor that is related to the shortness of the class day. Teachers usually work 3 1/4 hours net (and as low as 2 hours in some cases); perhaps the lowest teacher workload in the world. Although Argentina has a widely- recognized capacity for research in pedagogy, it is only in exceptional cases that teachers actually apply curriculum updates and new methodologies. 2.10 Better management of teacher staff requires giving particular attention to the student/teacher ratio. Argentina's average of 19 students per teacher is one of the lowest in the world (see Annex 6). Average class size, on the other hand, is approximately 30. This apparent anomaly is because of the high number of special and substitute teachers. While this phenomenon has important budgetary implications, there are no studies showing the impact of class sizes on actual school achievement and quality. The teachers' strike of April-May 1988 was a painful reminder that financial problems stemming from decentraliza- tion continue in most provinces. The crisis confronted in 1988, caused by teachers claims for higher salaries, required federal government intervention in an area which, in theory, is now virtually of the exclusive responsibility of the provinces. 2.11 While having had to assume, on the one hand, functions beyond its competence, MEJ has been unable, on the other hand, due to its reduced staff, to fully assume a "federal" role vis-a-vis primary education by providing coordina- tion and planning, quality control and support to the provinces in methodolo- gical terms. MEJ has developed expertise in the areas of physical infrastruc- ture inventories and decentralized support to the "cooperadoras", that should be transferred to the provinces. Although it is not possible to gather complete information about physical infrastructure, information available for some  - 12 - provinces indicates that this does not represent an urgent problem. Scarcity of classrooms in some areas has been solved through the use of multiple shifts. In order to provide appropriate maintenance to a deteriorating infrastructure, as well as to design investment programs, it is necessary for all provinces to conduct and update inventories as is done in some provinces (e.g., Santa Fe, Buenos Aires). In some schools maintenance is financed with parents' contribu- tions to the "cooperadoras". These parent-teacher community cooperatives have proved to be the only source of finance for important non-salary expenses .Ln schools during the financial crisis of recent years. The role that the "cooperadoras" play has been believed substantive, yet they vary greatly in economic strength and community support. Figures available at MEJ though apparently underestimate their total contribution (see Annex 7), give an adequate idea of their roles. There are no public fund contributions to these school cooperatives, thus schools attended by children in low-income communities usually receive less support. B. Organization and Role of Secondary Education 2.12 MEJ's main responsibility at present is the delivery of secondary education programs. The regular secondary education cycle is five years long, but there are special fields requiring six or seven years. MEJ's share in secondary education has decreased while the provinces have increased theirs. Still, MEJ is serving around one million secondary education students (800,000 in 1986). As a point of comparison, this is of the same order of magnitude as the number of national primary school students transferred to the provinces in 1978. Private secondary education is moderately important and receives public subsidy to pay regular teachers' payroll. Its enrollment has been about one- third of the total, with a slowly decreasing trend, while provincial schools have been increasing their share of enrollment to about one-fourth of the total (see Annex 8). Vocationally oriented secondary schools are especially important, as they account for about 60 percent of total enrollment, the remainder being regular schools (bachillerato). The percentage share of vocational schools among the national secondary schools is even larger at about 67 percent. National technical schools have a reputation for high quality. 2.13 The high rates of growth in secondary school enrollment in Latin America have changed the character of the education system. Argentina experienced important quantitative changes before other countries in the region, because it was among the first countries achieving virtually universal coverage of primary education. The changes implied for secondary education are two-fold: first, secondary education will tend to become an education for all children, not for a minority elite; and second, for a majority among those graduating, secondary education is less likely to be their terminal education. In spite of the effects of these changes upon the very nature of the system, secondary education has changed little in Argentina over the last 25 years. 2.14 Enrollments. Table 2.4 shows secondary education enrollment figures and Annexes 9 and 10 show completion rates. Net enrollment in secondary education was around 40 percent of the age group (the gross enrollment rate was  - 13 - Table 2.4 Secondary Education Enrollment by Jurisdiction: 1980 Enrollment Population Enrollment Jurisdiction Total 13-17 Years 13-17 Years Gross Net (000) (000) (000) Ratios (X) Ratios (%) (1) (2) (3) (1/3) (2/3) Argentina 1,333 998 2,383 58 42 Federal Capital 188 122 176 98 70 Buenos Aires 504 383 1,062 48 38 - Greater Buenos Aires Counties 243 554 69 44 - Other Counties 179 140 316 67 44 Catamarca 10 8 20 50 40 Cordoba 126 97 207 80 47 Corrientes 28 21 72 39 29 Chaco 27 20 77 36 26 Chubut 11 9 24 48 38 Entre Rios 41 36 88 48 41 Formosa 12 9 34 36 26 Jujuy 23 16 41 68 39 La Pampa 8 7 18 44 39 La Rioja 9 6 16 80 33 Mendoza 64 41 101 53 41 Misiones 23 17 88 35 26 Neuquen 10 7 25 40 28 Rio Negro 18 12 37 43 32 Salta 38 26 89 62 38 San Juan 28 20 44 69 45 San Luis 10 8 20 50 40 Santa Cruz 6 4 10 50 40 Santa Fe 112 87 198 57 44 Santiago del Estero 23 18 61 38 26 Tierra del Fuego 1 0.78 2 59 45 Tucuman 61 38 93 66 39 Source: Estimates based on Population Census, 1980.  - 14 - 56 percent) in 1980, having increased from approximately 25 percent in 1960. Variations among provinces are high: a few provinces have net enrollment rates as low as 26 percent, while the figure is 70 percent in the municipality of Buenos Aires. Completion rates for the country as a whole do not show any noticeable trend, having hovered around 60 percent since the fifties. The ranking of provinces in terms of enrollment ratios shows the same patterns as for other indicators. 2.15 Quality and Management. Many of the problems related to deterioration in quality of secondary education are similar to those described (paras. 2.5-2.6) for primary education. While some of the provinces have partially overcome qualitative problems of primary education, the lack of resources at the national level has limited MEJ's ability to address a number of urgent problems. Only recently has MEJ initiated an inventory of physical facilities in its secondary schools that will provide data on the condition of these schools. The recent social sector loan will finance pilot programs and studies to assess educational quality. Teacher training programs are virtually nonexistent since the economic crisis, although the high average professional level of secondary teachers limits the damage. 2.16 The very low student/teacher ratio of eight reflects frequent use of part-time teachers. When teacher workload is taken into account (see Annex 11) the number of students per full-time equivalent teacher increases to 17. This is an example of the need to improve statistics and their use by management to properly assess the behavior of key elements of the system. 2.17 Vocational Education. A National Council of Technical Education (CONET) was established in 1957 to provide vocational/technical education. Besides regular national budget funds, CONET receives the proceeds of an industry payroll tax, similar to other Latin American vocational training institutions. However, CONET has not been successful in implementing vocational training programs significantly different from those offered by secondary vocational schools. 2.18 CONET's share of the federal education budget is 11 percent. No other country in the region has a technical education program of the size of Argentina's. The social rate of return to investment in secondary education in Argentina is currently depressed at 6.4 percent (see Table 2.5). Graduates of vocational schools, whether technical or commercial, do not receive any wage premiums over regular secondary school graduates, in spite of the higher cippor- tunity costs and direct training costs of the vocational alternative. Thus, rates of return are even lower than for general secondary education. CONET is studying ways to improve the relevance of its programs. 2.19 Infrastructure. Infrastructure problems in provincial secondary schools and in CONET's institutions include both deterioration due to lack of maintenance, and lack of clear assessments of current and future needs for new buildings. The division of responsibilities between the federal government and the provinces complicates the design of a comprehensive investment program. In  - 15 - Table 2.5 Rates of Return to Education (Percent) Education Level Private Social Primary (vs. less than primary) 30.0 16.7 Secondary (vs. primary) 9.0 6.4 University (vs. secondary) 11.0 7.1 Source: Kugler, B. and Psacharopoulos, G. (1988).  - 16 - addition, most of the equipment in CONET's schools, as well as provincial technical schools has become obsolete. MEJ has conducted a sampling of national buildings to assess needs for repair and maintenance, and possibilities for improving utilization. This activity should be completed and extended to the provinces in order to provide basic information for setting investment priorities. C. The Explosive Growth of Higher Education 2.20 Over 300,000 new students were admitted in to higher education between 1970 and 1975 more than doubling the enrollment. Another huge increase of almost 300,000 new students took place between 1983 and 1986 (see Table 2.6). These figures contrast with the reduction that took place in the period 1975-82, and indicate what can truly be described as explosive growth of the nation's higher education system, which used to be (and might still be) the best developed in the region. Argentina has been the only country in the region which has produced two Nobel Prize winners in science, and the 1918 C6rdoba reform initiated the movement toward autonomous governance of universities, which has expanded throughout the region. The recent expansion of this well- established university subsector has occurred without any concomitant changes in subsectoral finance and organization, or in institutional management, and without paying attention to the relationship between outputs and the market for university graduates. 2.21 Organization and Finance. Public universities enrollment growth has occurred in an environment completely free of user fees and in which the two explosive periods followed the removal of all entrance requirements. This situation has put universities under particular stress because the proportional increase in enrollment exceeded the proportional increase in financial resources they received. The most dramatic indicator of where Argentina's higher educa- tion is standing is the expenditure per student, which is of the same order of magnitude for the three levels (see Table 2.9 below). The questions that are raised by this surprising indicator simply show the existence of deep problems: the lesser ones being the scarcity of adequate information on unit costs and other variables, and the more serious problems being serious inefficiencies, e.g., registered students who are not really students, and supposedly full-time teachers devoting extremely limited hours to their academic duties, apparently in accordance with their salaries. Democratization of higher education in Argentina and in other countries in the region has taken the form of lower academic requirements for admission and sometimes even fully open access for all high school graduates to any institution and program. Because of a decline in the average academic background of entrants, there has been a lowering of quality that eludes measure, but about which there is consensus. The obvious impact upon quality of the leading programs has been aggravated by the reduction in the average (per student) financial resources available. The magnitude of the qualitative and efficiency problems described overshadows the problem of deterioration of the physical environment.  - 17 - Table 2.6 Higher Education Enrollments Year Non-University University Total (000) (000) (000) 1961 19 160 179 1966 25 226 251 1970 38 237 275 1975 60 537 597 1980 94 398 492 1985 182 664 846 1986 196 707 903 Source: Education Sector Study.  - 18 - 2.22 Institutional Management. A number of problems of management affect both the higher education sector as a whole and individual institutions. A Mational Inter-University Council (CIN) composed of the rectors of all public universities meets regularly to discuss issues of common interest. It is not empowered to make decisions that are binding upon its member institutions. MEJ's divisions dealing with higher education are similarly limited in power with respect to universities. Budgetary decisions are negotiated on a one-to- one basis between each university and the budget authorities at the Ministry of Economy (ME). In most of the provinces that have several higher education institutions, there is no provincial coordination and only recently efforts in this direction are being initiated in a few provinces. Although some very general and important elements of higher education policy exist, there is a pervasive feeling that the lack of a consistent, comprehensive policy for the subsector is contributing to its sustained deterioration. 2.23 At the level of individual universities, management problems are numerous and levels of efficiency are low. Academic programs in Argentine institutions still operate following a traditional manner, with rigid study programs for each career, organized around a Faculty associated with the career, instead of colleges or departments organized around fields of knowledge. This mode of organization does not promote efficiency. Faculties operate with a high degree of autonomy. There is little if any management control and the high proportion of the scarce resources available through the budget are devoted to salaries, which leaves no resources for other basic inputs. Even the most basic management information such as the number of students enrolled by faculty is difficult to obtain. One reason efficiency appears to be so low is that there are no limits on the duration of studies to complete a degree program or Ea "career", as they are called. Occasional studies suggest that, in the last decade, only small proportions of university entrants ever graduate, and that large proportions of enrolled students have a small academic load. There is not, however, sufficient information for analyzing such issues. 2.24 The issues discussed appear magnified in the case of Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), the largest university in the country and once one of the highest quality institutions in Latin America. UBA has its different faculties spread throughout the capital city. Most of them operated less than half of the last academic period due to strikes of academic and administrative staff. It is claimed that full-time faculty salaries are less than one-half of the domestic opportunity cost of the professional faculty, and the time they devote to academic duties is adjusted accordingly. Students are allowed to take final examinations without attending classes, a practice that has apparently increased lately. In spite of the importance of adequate statistics for analyzing problems like the ones discussed, almost no aggregate figures are availab:Le and access to figures for individual universities is difficult. 2.25 Pressure to increase university enrollments has been partially allevia- ted by the expansion of non-university post-secondary education. In the case of UBA, one way of alleviating the pressure that excessively high numbers of new students exert over scarce resources has been the requirement that students complete a basic cycle, which consists of general courses similar to regular upper secondary courses, before entering the regular university cycle.  - 19 - 2.26 Economic Impact of Graduates. Several studies have analyzed economic impact aspects of higher education, although the supply of information is still limited. Studies of the rates of return to higher education have found that the social rates of return are moderate; on the order of seven percent (see Table 2.5 and Annex 12). These rates will be subject to additional downward pressure as the number of university graduates increases, especially if quality of the education provided has declined. Indicators of excess supply are already observed in architecture for example, and can be anticipated in other areas such as medicine, where enrollment and future output have already soared beyond what appears to be reasonable demand in the health sector in the near future. Studies analyzing relationships between education and income distribution in Argentina (see Annex 13) show that public expenditure in higher education is regressive in Argentina, though to a lesser degree than in other countries in the region. Public funds in Argentina subsidize direct costs of students enrolled in higher education. Since the higher the education level, the smaller the proportion of low-income students enrolled, it is the children of affluent families who benefit from this subsidy. Unless low- and middle-income families obtain special access to funds to compensate for the direct and indirect costs of higher education, their children will be less likely to attend school. The opportunity costs of children studying become a large part of total costs at the age when children can earn substantial incomes. D. Education Finance 2.27 The federal government is responsible for a large proportion of finance of secondary and higher education, while provincial governments are responsible for almost all finance of primary education. It should be noted, however, that the general federal government revenue-sharing transfers (as determined by the "Ley de Coparticipaci6n") account for about 60 percent of total provincial resources. The magnitude of these transfers has been historically a major source of political conflict, although Argentina's new revenue-sharing law enacted in January 1988 may resolve some of the conflict. Several efforts have been made in the past to undertake a comprehensive analysis of sectoral public finance including provincial expenditure on education. It is easy to under- estimate sectoral public expenditure, however, either when complete provincial information cannot be obtained, as is frequently the case, or when initial budget figures are used instead of actual expenditures (see Annex 14 for the ratio between education expenditure and initial budget). 2.28 The share of education expenditures in public expenditures has hovered around 15 percent over the last 10 years (see Table 2.7), with a steady decline in the period 1979-82; however, the national budget declined from about 15 percent in the seventies to under 10 percent in most of the eighties due mainly to decentralization of primary education. In the provinces, however, the share of public education expenditure in total provincial expenditure increased throughout the same period. As a result, for the public sector as a whole, the education sector has maintained its share in total (federal and provincial) expenditure. As a proportion of GNP, public expenditure on education in Argentina has been around 3 percent increasing in recent years to around  - 20 - Table 2.7 Total Public Expenditure in Education as a Percentage of Total Public Expenditure: 1970-1986 Year Percent 1977 12 1978 16 1979 17 1980 16 1981 15 1982 13 1983 14 1984 16 1985 15 1986 14 Source: Education Sector Study.  - 21 - 3.5 percent (see Annex 15), which is a moderate level by international and regional standards, even for countries less developed than Argentina (see Annex 1). Some estimates put private expenditure on education under 2 percent of GNP, which means that total national expenditure on education is relatively low. In spite of this apparent long-term stability, public expenditure in education has experienced wide short-term fluctuations in the last 25 years (see Tables in Annex 19). Fluctuations have been related to the overall financial instability of the public sector exacerbated in the case of the education sector by the effects of hyperinflation over salaries, which accrue for most of the budget. Thus, fluctuations reflect mainly salary adjustments rather than quantitative changes in the services delivered. 2.29 The distribution of expenditure by education level appears in Table 2.8. Although primary education experienced a short-term (five years) loss in its share induced by the 1978 decentralization, the main change has been a shift in the source of finance without any substantive long-term changes in the overall distribution. The general pattern of public expenditure by level of education does not present anomalies, although lack of resources for non-salary expenditures (see Annex 16) and low rates of return for secondary and higher education suggest that, besides possible reallocations between levels, shifts in the internal allocations within education levels might improve quality of education. Table 2.9 presents federal expenditure per student by level. While the unit cost for primary education is especially high by regional standards (see Annex 1), the opposite is true in the case of the figure for higher education. 2.30 Fluctuations in these costs of over 20 percent between consecutive years are a common occurrence, exacerbated in the case of primary education. Provincial expenditures per student (see Annex Tables 18a, b) also oscillate, though less than in the federal case. Long-term damaging effects of cyclical behavior are well known; in the case of Argentina it is making it more and more costly to recover old performance levels. Oscillation in salaries (see Annex Tables 17a, b) make it difficult to assess the adequacy of their levels. If average salaries are low, as frequently claimed, whenever high costs appear they are caused by inefficiencies in the use of resources such as, for example, having too low student/teacher ratios. 2.31 Two additional issues concern private finance of education and are important. One refers to the public subsidy provided to private schools; the other to the private supplemental finance provided to the public schools through parent/teacher cooperatives or "cooperadoras". Private primary and secondary schools are entitled, under some special arrangements, to have their regular teacher payroll reimbursed out of public funds. About 20 percent of the education budget is spent in this way. Although the distributive impact of this expenditure is not as equitable as that of expenditure in public schools, it is probable that transfer to private schools has a positive impact on quality, at a lower total cost than pure public provision.  - 22 - Table 2.8 Distribution of Total Public Expenditure in Education by Level of Education. 1970-1986 (Percent) Year Primary Secondary Higher Other Total 1970 46.7 22.9 14.9 15.5 100 1975 53.0 22.4 18.3 6.3 100 1977 45.6 34.6 17.4 2.5 100C 1978 47.8 34.8 17.4 3.6 loCi 1979 42.6 38.5 19.0 3.5 loc1 1980 42.8 38.1 19.1 4.2 1001 1981 40.0 39.7 20.3 4.2 100 1982 40.6 39.4 20.0 4.1 100D 1983 41.1 39.1 19.8 5.4 10( 1984 44.6 37.6 17.9 3.7 100 1985 46.8 34.9 18.4 4.2 100 1986 50.4 32.4 17.2 3.1 100 Source: Education Sector Study.  - 23 - Table 2.9 National Government Expenditure per Student Year by Level of Education a/ (Australes, 1987) Year Elementary Secondarv Higher 1961 427.05 772.30 3,051.75 1965 526.03 694.03 2,489.50 1970 721.19 1,821.13 2,150.74 1975 1,111.83 2,579.62 1,979.23 1976 585.50 1,567.91 1,103.61 1977 582.98 1,690.37 1,131.50 1978 3,823.94 2,222.04 1,440.49 1979 1,030.18 2,428.68 n.a. 1980 1,187.52 2,753.33 2,089.33 1981 883.42 2,416.36 1,824.94 1982 617.73 1,675.26 1,277.43 1983 882.56 2,146.24 1,330.98 1984 1,002.21 2,289.17 1,144.91 1985 708.07 1,722.87 1,012.82 1986 885.72 1,378.70 n.a. a/ See Annex 18 for selected provincial figures. Source: Education Sector Study.  - 24 - 2.32 With regard to the "cooperadorasn, these private local institutions have a positive impact on the quality of education to the extent they have become an important source for non-salary expenditures in most schools (see Annex 7). However, since schools serving low income families receive lourer contributions from parents than schools in affluent areas, the efforts of the "cooperadoras" should be complemented to avoid inequitable effects.  - 25 - III. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 The issues raised in Chapter II require decisive action from the federal and provincial governments of Argentina in order, first, to arrest the deterioration which has been occurring in the education sector and second, to improve sector performance even during the difficult economic period Argentina is experiencing. For each of the clusters of issues discussed in Chapter II, there need to be clear policies, together with a set of operational strategies. Table 3.1 contains a proposed set of recommendations which includes, besides policies and strategies, the programs which, if carried out, will help in achieving the desired objectives. A. Equitable Access to Primary Education of Good Quality 3.2 The policy recommended for the primary level is to achieve equitable access for all children to primary education of good quality. This policy incorporates several themes: physical access to school places (which we have seen above is not as serious a problem in Argentina as in other countries), equity, and quality of education. All are intimately inter-related. Providing access to education of good quality is essential for true equity: improving quality in schools in poor or remote rural areas is an equity measure. 3.3 Problems of access for the age group 7-12 refer mainly to children requiring special education, geographically isolated families and, in a few exceptional cases, extremely poor families. Some of these cases require precise actions by the provincial sector authorities and some others contain issues for the social welfare agencies of the Ministry of Health and Social Action rather than for MEJ. The issue of equity should be addressed from the point of view of increasing the number of years even the poorest children spend in the primary education system, and increasing the proportion of those completing the cycle. Children of poor families need incentives to stay in school. Besides incentives such as food programs, better quality by itself will tend to increase retention and improve promotion rates. A commitment to better quality requires an effort to set realistically achievable standards and to identify specific, cost- effective means for achieving them. Once this is done, appropriate ways for channelling the financial resources can be put in place. 3.4 Three main strategies that will contribute to put this policy into effect are discussed: (i) targeting public resources on the poor, (ii) setting standards of quality, and (iii) providing technical assistance to the provinces to enable them to manage more efficiently, implement their programs more effectively and improve the educational process in provincial schools. These are examples of the kind of role that both, the federal level and the provincial education authorities, working together should assume to achieve national objectives and policies with the latter as providers of educational services themselves.  - 26 - Table 3 1 The Prograns' Policy and Stratoey Recommendations Polisc Strateg,ies The Programs Equitable access to primary Target resources on the poor. -Finance school lunches and education materials education of good quality to children of low income families -Establigh salary incentives to attract good toachers to poor areas -Assist Cooperadoras. Establish standards of quality and -Establish the National Assessment Systems of measure achievement Education in MEJ -Establish the National Technical Assistant Service in MEJ. Provide technical asaistance and -Establish/Strengthen provincial management/ strengthen implementation capacity, programming capacity (MIS-inventory of physical facilities) Decentralization of Secondary Prepare a program for d-central za- -Complete inventory of physical fani I ties Education tion. and implement investment plan for delivery of an adequate infrastructure to provinces. -Prepare the decentralization plan based on experience Convert MEJ to a federal role -Establish federal functions at MEJ (experimental quality improvement program) Reassess the technical/vocational -Modernize and adjust vocational/technical education system education programs to actual needs, in coordination with users Recover relevance of Higher Reassess the objectives of higher -Strengthen oubsector management at the Education education. national level. -Establish a national independent asseisment, agency Modernize the universities -Modernize the academic organization of universities. Structure the oubsector at the -Establish integrated provincial systems of national and provincial levels higher education. Al locate finance in accordance Target federal resources for -Create economic analysis capacity. with equity end cost- primary education. -Eitend revenue sharing arrangements, in efficiency criteria Set up financial arrangements for accordance with national objectives. decentralization of secondary -Establish access of provinces and univer- education. sities to investment funds Mobilize new resources for higher -Provide incentives for higher education education institutions to mobilize additional resources from the beneficiaries of higher education (students) and non- federal government resources which may be stimulated by federal contributions given as matching funds  - 27 - 3.5 Tarpet Resources on the Poor. Although resources for the education sector have been allocated more equitably in Argentina than in most other Latin American countries, there is still ample room for better targeting. Targeting of national financial resources is discussed in para. 3.21. There are several ways to improve targeting of resources for primary education: (a) Provide free textbooks to children of poor families, or to all families in poor areas. (b) Assist the "cooperadoras" that are associated with schools in poor areas, so that they can provide almost as much support to their school as "cooperadoras" of schools in affluent areas. This will require care in designing the system of aiding "cooperadoras" so as not to remove their incentive to provide what they can to improve their schools. (c) Establish a system of incentives for high-quality teachers to teach in rural schools and schools that serve disadvantaged areas. At present, in the absence of special incentives, the best teachers tend to move to the best schools, which is understandable. Once again, the formula will have to be designed with care in order to accomplish the objective of targeting without too great an increase in recurrent cost. (d) Redesign the system of nutritional supplements for school children. There are indications that there are inefficien- cies under the present system and that a significant portion of food goes to middle class families. It may be possible to accomplish the objective of aiding children of the poorest families through a better design and more sensitive targeting. 3.6 Establish Standards of Quality and Measure Achievement. Progress achieved in some areas of the Argentina primary education system should be spread throughout the country. For this, MEJ should take a leading role for setting the national standards of student achievement. By standards we mean a system of attainable norms indicating what students should and could have learned in major subjects (language, mathematics, etc.) by a certain level. Where schools fell below these norms, this information would lead to actions to overcome the problems and shortcomings. After determining that a school administrator and staff were making acceptable efforts, authorities could intervene (through training, supplemental materials and resources) to help the school achieve the norms. On the one hand, the MEJ would conduct the control and evaluation activities that identify the problems. On the other hand, traditional forms of direct personal supervision cannot be implemented from MEJ, therefore, more modern techniques for assessing student achievement have to be set up at MEJ. Direct supervision programs, dealing with pedagogical techniques and classroom activities, will have to be implemented by the provincial sectoral authorities. Besides setting achievement norms and standards, MEJ should  - 28 - establish a minimal set of enforceable basic norms in areas such as teacher qualifications, course duration (including time in class per day) and class size. In order to permit the MEJ to monitor these standards, MEJ needs to restore the statistical processing capacity that once existed but has fallen into disuse. 3.7 Provide Technical Assistance and Strengthen Implementation Capacilv. Capacity for developing and implementing sectoral programs differs among the provinces. MEJ should identify the levels of capacity and the nature of the needs in the provinces in order to contribute effectively to building the institutional and human resource base needed for sectoral development in ealch province. There are provinces that have developed relatively sophisticated capacities in fields such as curriculum, psycho-pedagogy, programming and management. MEJ should encourage and facilitate disseminating knowledge and methods developed in some provinces to others that are still in need of improving their performance in these fields. 3.8 Some provinces, which can be readily identified, have strong capa,-ities to prepare and implement subsectoral plans that meet relatively high standards. There are, however, other less-developed provinces where there are urgent management needs that must be satisfied before adequate quality improvement programs can be implemented. The most developed provinces need to have access to investment resources (perhaps through a loan fund), which would enable them to make fuller use of their implementation capacity. More comprehensive programs should be worked out in the less developed provinces in order to strengthen their abilities to seek and utilize resources to upgrade the quality of their primary education sub-system. B. Decentralization of Secondary Education 3.9 The decentralization of primary education took place by the unilateral action of the central government. Responsibility of primary education was returned to the provinces, as provided in the Constitution, but with no warning or preparation for the provinces to assume administrative control and no transfer of resources. Some provinces were able to respond readily to this challenge; others experienced difficulties and severe economic strains. Still, most observers agree that it is preferable for the provinces to manage their own primary education system, and this is one act of the Military Government that has not been rescinded. As the conflict of April-May 1988 over primary teachers' salaries indicates, there are still problems and shortcomings in the federal/provincial arrangements for managing primary education. It is unfortunate that, even though a decade has passed since the forced decentraliza- tion, there has been no evaluation of its impact on either educational qua,lity, financing or management. If secondary education is to be decentralized, all parties agree that it should be done with prior consultation between the parties involved, with plans and preparation for added administrative burden (e.g., technical assistance to the provinces by the central MEJ), and some formula for transfer of some or all of the resources currently spent for secondary education by the MEJ to the provinces. There is far less agreement, however, on hor these things should be done, and especially not on the last point regarding transfer of resources.  - 29 - 3.10 In order to achieve continuity between education levels, it is necessary to establish better links between primary and secondary education. Decentralization of secondary education will help this endeavor. The provinces are willing, and even eager, to take over the responsibility for secondary education. In fact the share of secondary education provided by the provinces has been increasing through time and in one province, Rio Negro, enrollment in national schools is almost negligible (see Annex 8). There is a widespread feeling that national schools are, on the average, of better quality than provincial and that some industrial technical schools offer quality education. Figures on expenditure per student tend to provide support to this hypothesis: national expenditure per student is higher on the average than the provincial expenditure, and expenditures per student in industrial technical schools exceed that in non-technical schools. A concern on the part of the provinces is then, that if they take over responsibility for the national secondary schools, they will need additional funds to maintain the quality of the schools transferred. The strategies proposed to progress towards this policy refer to preparing an explicit decentralization program, and reassessing the roles of the MEJ and of the technical/vocational education system. 3.11 A Decentralization Program. Given the existing consensus about the desirability of decentralizing secondary education, it is important to prepare a program with readily identifiable steps leading to a successful transition. Perhaps most importantly, it will be necessary to concretely address the issues of how to distribute financial resources and responsibilities. Financial issues have to be addressed within the framework of the complete national revenue- sharing package, including any adjustments that may have to be made in primary education finance. Economic differences among provinces suggest that a uniform proposal covering simultaneous decentralization to all provinces may be difficult to draft. There are two possible ways of dealing with this issue: either following a phased approach, with provinces assuming responsibilities at different points in time; or developing a mutually agreed-upon program of transition based on the findings of a task force in which relevant sectoral, provincial and economic interests are represented. 3.12 A Federal Role in Secondary Education. One of the areas for immediate actions in relation to decentralization of secondary education is clarifying the role and functions that MEJ should provide under the new arrangements. Its role with regard to secondary education is similar to the points discussed in paras. 3.6-3.8 for primary education. The HEJ is still organized as it was before the decentralization of primary education, an arrangement that is inadequate now and it would be totally inappropriate for a future federal role. It has great difficulties recruiting and retaining adequate staff due to severe limitations on salary levels. There will be a need for substantial adjustments if it is to have an organization and staff suited to a federal role. Appropriate staff and financial resources should be allocated to the tasks of reconceptualizing the Ministry's role and developing its capabilities to fulfill new functions while eliminating its activities as a direct service provider.  - 30 - 3.13 Reassessment of the Technical/Vocational Education System. Technical/ Vocational education is a highly important area to be considered in connection with decentralization of secondary education. On one hand it is necessary to understand better the role of technical/vocational education in the context of both the complete education system as well as the overall economic process and to program future investments accordingly. The productive sectors in Argentina should play a priority role in this process. On the other hand, there is an important question whether responsibility for this type of education should be kept at a national level or should rather be transferred to the provinces, as in the case of academic secondary education. Detailed subsector work, already underway at MEJ/CONET as part of Loan 2984-AR will help in identifying areas for strategic decision making, for a workable plan and capacity to implement the plan. C. Relevance and Efficiency of Higher Education 3.14 The higher education subsector presents many problems, including severe shortage of economic resources, organizational and institutional problems, and great politiral sensitivity. The continued development of the higher education subsector (with associated research and technology capacities) is, however, of critical imp_rtance for the country's economic growth and participation in the modern international economy. Despite the problems, some of which may seem overwhelming in the short run, there do seem to be possible avenues of change and improvement for the subsector. The policy framework, with which all levels of Government as well as higher education institutions should agree, is that Argentina's excellent system of higher education should seek both relevance and efficiency during this period of rapid growth and scarce financial resources. 3.15 In order to explore possible solutions to the problems of higher education, it will be necessary to address them directly and explicitly in national debate; a debate that--largely due to political sensitivity--has been avoided for too long in Argentina. The key participants or "stakeholders" in this debate must include the universities themselves (a large and diverse group), their representative organizations (the Consejo Inter-Universitario Nacional (CIN) and Consejo de Rectores de Universidades Privadas (CRUP), provincial higher education authorities, the federal MEJ and its Directorates concerned with universities and research, representatives of faculty, students, parents and other interests (e.g., churches). The debate should lead to a reassessment of the objectives of higher education (an admittedly difficult theme, subject to endless philosophizing, but essential to discuss in at least its broad outlines), and of the structure and organization of the higher education subsector (including the role of federal and provincial governments and the possibilities of organizing post-secondary education "systems" at the provincial level). Finally, it should lead to a modernization of Argentina's universities, which include ways of increasing efficiency. In the long run this will help to redefine the magnitude of the higher education subsector in Argentina (including issues of cost, quality and equity of access).  - 31 - 3.16 Reassessment of the Obiectives of Higher Education. There are basic questions about the role of higher education that must be answered before starting the search for solutions to subsector problems. Does democratization of education imply (real) universalization of access to higher education? If yes, to what kind of higher education do secondary graduates have access? How soon should this objective be achieved? Which institutions in Argentina should assume the scientific research and development role necessary for leading the socio-economic development process? What sharing and allocation of institution- al specializations would be appropriate for preparing the human resources that will contribute to Argentina's development? 3.17 Although individual groups or institutions address these questions periodically, there is not any authorized organization that could represent and synthesize subsectoral interests. The MEJ, CIN and CRUP need to fill this gap as a high priority and identify the proper roles for themselves. 3.18 Structure of the Subsector. Although there is a division of tasks between universities and other higher education institutions in some respects, distinctions among different universities and categories of institutions and their responsibilities are not clear at all. Except for their geographical location, almost all universities purport to do the same things. Besides causing unnecessary duplication, this has led to elimination of some desirable and usually sophisticated activities. Lack of flexibility for inter-institu- tional student transfers is another adverse feature implying wastage of resources. Better definition of subsector objectives would allow better organization and division of responsibilities, including those related with research. In some major provinces with relatively large higher education subsectors, a provincial higher education system should be established with the corresponding institutional division of responsibilities. 3.19 Modernization of Universities. Argentina universities are still organized around Faculties (para. 2.23), which implies unnecessary duplications of courses and programs, and lack of flexibility within each university. Reorganization of universities introducing departmentalization by areas of knowledge will allow a better allocation of the available resources. Administrative improvements such as more flexible curricula and imposition of time limits within which students must meet criteria of progress toward completion can reduce the average time to graduation and increase the proportion of entrants who graduate, without losses in quality below present levels. D. Use of Education Finance to Achieve Equity and Cost-Efficiency 3.20 There is little doubt that the present allocation of finance in the education sector is the result of a series of emergency measures taken in the past to address ever-mounting, conflicting pressures. The outcome, as analyzed in Chapter II, is a sector in disarray. Some difficult decisions will have to be taken in the immediate future in order to avoid potential further conflicts. Most of the strategies already outlined in this chapter should help to improve the impact of the resources spent in the sector. To complement them, financial  - 32 - strategies should emphasize targeting federal resources for primary education, agreeing on the financial arrangements for the decentralization of secondary education, and mobilizing new resources for higher education. 3.21 Targeting Federal Resources for Primary Education. There is widespread feeling that the 1978 primary education decentralization process has not been completed. The way in which the latest teacher conflict was settled suggests that there are still important issues to be resolved regarding the federal government's financial responsibility for primary education. Any new arrange- ments in this field should be undertaken in the context of the revenue-sharing law, either as direct federal contributions or in the form of matching fun,ds. We had identified four areas in which federal resources can reinforce provincial efforts and improve targeting (para. 3.5). Acting in any of them would have strong effects on equity and would also increase effectiveness and improve quality of primary education. 3.22 The Financial Arrangements for Decentralization of Secondary Education. There is consensus in Argentina about the desirability of decentralizing secondary education. There are, however, diverging opinions about specific ways for implementing the decentralization. The most complex issue refers to the amount of federal financial resources that would be transferred to the provinces and to the mechanism for effecting the transfers. Diversity among provinces indicates that it is difficult to draft a uniform set of measures which would turn out acceptable to all parties. This should be overcome following a phased approach, with temporary arrangements operating during a transition periocd, and then having permanent agreements undertaken by the provinces at different moments in time. All financial agreements for decentralization of secondary education should be considered in the context of the new revenue federal finance of primary education. 3.23 Mobilization of New Resources for Higher Education. Expenditure in higher education is highly inadequate in Argentina, both in global and per student terms. Given the current restrictions on public spending, it is evident that, besides increasing the effectiveness of the resources currently spent, new ways must be found to mobilize new resources. Other sources of financing, such as the direct beneficiaries (students) or voluntary contributions from industry could become important. This would result in a better higher education product delivered by the system. Regressive distributive effects can be avoided by using appropriate loans/scholarships schemes already developed elsewhere.  - 33 - IV. PROGRAMS FOR THE EDUCATION SECTOR 4.1 This chapter lists action programs to deal with some of the issues and problems identified in this analysis. Following the structure used in earlier chapters, these fall within four program areas: (i) the primary level, (ii) secondary education (including vocational and technical schools), (iii) higher education, and (iv) education finance, which affects the sector as a whole and its management. 4.2 At the outset it is important to distinguish between activities that can be implemented in the relatively short term, and others that will require prior development of a national consensus and/or policy decisions. Foremost among the former group are some of the activities proposed for improving quality of primary education; among the latter group that will require more time are activities that will depend on a clear decision to decentralize the remaining service-delivery activities of the MEJ (and about how this is to be done). The discussion that follows presents program ideas that, on the basis of information presently available, seem feasible and desirable courses of action, even though the level of consensus or "policy readiness" varies considerably. A. Primary Education 4.3 Under the decentralized arrangements that now govern primary education, direct action to improve primary schools is the responsibility of the provinces. The role of the federal government is constrained. But because the transition took place so precipitously and with so little planning and institutional provision for the change, the present relationship between the MEJ and the provinces is not clearly defined. There has not been adequate arrangement for the Ministry to provide the sorts of services and assistance to the provinces that it can and should provide. Establishment of an appropriate "federal role" should have high priority, including the federal involvement in a decentralized system in promoting equity. Financial intervention to augment the educational spending of provinces should be targeted so as to achieve equity objectives in an efficient way. Aid can take a number of forms, including direct assistance of various types, and incentive programs designed to stimulate complementary funding from non-federal sources. Several activities along these lines are the following: 4.4 Strengthening Provincial Education ManaRement. Strengthening provincial capacities to plan and manage their education systems and provide high quality educational services is essentially a technical assistance activity that provinces can either handle themselves, or which the MEJ can promote and provide. The former alternative in which provinces handle institutional strengthening themselves, should operate in more-developed provinces. Technical assistance from the MEJ should be available to other provinces. There should also be an opportunity for cross-fertilization and exchange of information between provinces on successful programs and institutional strengthening practices. Activities should include establishing programming and program-  - 34 - implementation functions where these do not exist, upgrading staff, providing seminars and training courses, and establishing or improving management information systems. 4.5 Establishing a National System of Educational Assessment. Creating a national system for assessing educational progress is one of the most important support activities proposed for education. This would include setting standards and establishing norms, establishing an achievement testing system, evaluaLting how the main forms of education are achieving the norms, and making recommenda- tions on the basis of this information about how to improve educational practices. Such a national system should be managed and implemented by the MEJ. In the case of primary education, however, it would be feasible to start an assessment system in a few provinces, building upon existing experience sttch as that of the federal capital (see para. 2.5) 4.6 Establishing a Technical Assistance Service at MEJ. A service to aid the provinces in the ways discussed in paras. 3.7-3.8 would provide the means by which the MEJ could carry out many of those activities we have called appro- priate federal functions: strengthening management in less-developed provinces and advising on how to improve educational services. It would formalize the federal role of the MEJ as an advisory and assisting agency, with the provinces providing educational services directly. 4.7 Providing Subsidies for Poor Children. Argentina, unlike many countries, relies on parents to purchase most primary school textbooks. This has meant that textbooks have continued to be available in adequate supply even during the financial crisis, but it imposes quite heavy burdens on the lowest income families. Federal funding could pay for textbooks for children of poor families, either outright or through matching programs. Targeting could be either on the basis of means tests or by providing subsidies for schools serving predominantly poor populations. 4.8 Providing School Lunches. Another equity program is school feeding. A recent evaluation of programs in Argentina found serious shortcomings in existing programs, in many cases due to poor targeting and poor management. Targeted school lunch programs should be explored, both at federal and provincial levels, taking advantage of studies and analyses that suggest efficient ways of designing and implementing programs in order to improve nutrition and reduce school dropouts. 4.9 Establishing Incentives for Teacher Mobility. One of the problems identified is a concentration of the most able teachers in urban areas and in school districts with relatively high academic standards. A program to provide incentives to well-trained and well-performing teachers to teach in schools serving poor urban and peri-urban neighborhoods, or to teach in rural areas, would promote equity. The programs should vary between provinces in design and in the level of federal contribution to the incentive program. It would be important to design the program so that pay increments stimulated high-ability teachers to work in areas where professionals of their calibre would not other- wise choose to teach.  - 35 - 4.10 Assisting Cooperadoras. The primary school parent-teacher associations or Cooperadoras play a highly important role in financing non-salary costs of primary education. It is obvious, however, that the Cooperadoras cannot overcome financial inequities because their ability to provide additional support to their school depends on the economic strength of the community. There is a need to develop schemes that will provide aid to cooperadoras of schools serving poor children and utilize their self-help capacity, without reducing the incentives for parents and community institutions to contribute financially within the limits of their means toward better education of their children. Cooperadoras offer an institutional means to carry out the textbook subsidy program proposed in para. 4.8. B. Secondary Education 4.11 The nature of program proposals for the secondary level depends on how much progress can be expected toward decentralizing the federal secondary schools. This is a major decision which, as discussed above (paras. 3.10 and 4.1), enjoys widespread support in general terms but still requires extensive "marketing" and policy development efforts before the way is clear to undertake concrete actions. Nonetheless, it is possible to program specific activities in anticipation of a decision. Activities initiated under Loan 2984-AR such as a study and an inventory of secondary education physical facilities and studies to reassess the technical and vocational education system now under CONET are examples of such preparatory steps. An issue requiring further analysis by MEJ, for example, is whether the vocational and technical education system now under CONET would be decentralized. Until such issues are settled, any program must necessarily contain many uncertainties. Activities envisaged for secondary education include the following: 4.12 Preparing a Decentralization Plan. Isolated efforts undertaken in the past can now be consolidated into a plan for decentralization that is mutually acceptable to provinces and the federal government. Much of the program for secondary education will depend upon, first, a clear and widely acceptable decision to decentralize, and second, on the nature of the decentralized system that emerges. Such a plan must deal with the short-term financial issues of the transition period and the longer-term financial issues related to national-level revenue-sharing arrangements. It must also deal with issues of subsector management and the division of responsibilities between federal and provincial authorities. Issues such as the future of technical/vocational education--its role, character, organization and management--are highly important areas for strategic choices that can be dealt with either in the context of decentraliza- tion or separately. 4.13 Establishing Federal Functions at MEJ. A National System for Educational Assessment and a Technical Assistance Service are two federal services that have been discussed (paras. 4.6 and 4.7) in connection with primary education. These federal functions should be extended to cover secondary education as well. Since a major portion of secondary schools are now under federal control, it may well be that these functions could be implemented  - 36 - first for the secondary level and then extended to primary education. In such a context, as a very preliminary step toward a National Assessment System, an experimental program of qualitative improvement and evaluation is one component funded under Loan 2984-AR. The experiment involves twenty schools throughout Argentina. If successful, the experiment will be extended to more schools, in all provinces. Extension of an evolved and adapted form of the experiment to national scale would take place in the mid nineties. The same is true of experimental and pilot activities in the areas of in-service teacher training and educational materials development and use: dissemination of findings on a national scale would be an appropriate federal activity. 4.14 Inventory of Educational Facilities. One special preparatory activity has been initiated under Loan 2984-AR and needs to be completed to facilitate further advancement toward decentralization. This is the detailed inventory of secondary education physical facilities that was begun under the PPF for the loan and will be completed during 1988. The inventory has to be extended to include facilities now under provincial jurisdiction. A component under Loan 2984-AR will improve the provinces' capacities to conduct such inventories. The inventory will identify needs for repair and rehabilitation of school buildings and other aspects of the supply of physical space that will provide essential information on which to base plans for infrastructure development. This information will give the federal MEJ the basis for repairing and upgrading the facilities prior to any transfer to the provinces, thus the decentralization would leave provinces with schools in good condition. 4.15 Infrastructure Investment. On the basis of the national and provincial inventory, the MEJ would carry out a repair and upgrading program so that all provinces would receive federally-owned secondary school buildings in an adequate state of repair. In addition to upgrading existing buildings, there may be a need for some investment in infrastructure for the secondary level, even though available data indicate that the incremental demand will be moderate for the next 5-10 years. Such investment in new infrastructure would--under one scenario--be undertaken by the provinces, under various sorts of capital assistance from the federal government. Planning for infrastructure investment will require the provinces to have management capacities developed through technical assistance, as contemplated in para. 4.13. C. Higher Education 4.16 The uncertainties and contingencies that affect program planning for higher education are at least as great as those discussed in connection with the secondary level. They stem not from uncertainties about decentralization but rather from a lack of consensus regarding the objectives of higher education. Each of the main participants in the subsector has somewhat different percep- tions of what university education should provide its students, the role of the universities themselves, who should pay what shares of the cost and other issues. There are questions not only about the role of the federal and provincial governments, but also about the universities' own coordinating entities (CIN and CRUP), the relation between public and private institutions,  - 37 - critically important financial questions, about the organization of the higher education subsector at the provincial level, and internal organization and management within individual institutions. Developing an investment program in the higher education subsector will mean taking actions and decisions that will tend to build consensus and prepare the way for future improvements. 4.17 Strengthening Management of the Higher Education Subsector. Loan 2984-AR includes a modest component to help the CIN analyze its management role and strengthen its capacity to serve as an effective institution for planning and governance of public higher education. This limited activity is only a starting point. If there is receptivity on the part of the higher education community to the idea of improving subsector management, planning and effectiveness--and there are indications that the universities are receptive- -additional technical assistance, policy development and, potentially, capital assistance should follow. The first task, however, depends on the Argentine institutions--the MEJ, CIN, CRUP and their member universities, and some provincial higher education agencies--to examine the objectives of higher education and develop an acceptable mode of working together to achieve the objectives agreed upon. 4.18 Establishing An Independent Assessment Agencv. Neither CIN nor CRUP, nor the MEJ, provides any independent qualitative assessment of higher education institutions. In other countries such assessment is provided by autonomous entities established by the universities themselves (i.e., accreditation bodies). It would be logical for the existing coordinating agencies to undertake such a role, or to act in their coordinating capacity to create new institutions that could perform the role. 4.19 Modernizing University Management. Moving from the level of subsector management to the individual institutions, there is a tremendous need--and opportunity--to strengthen management capacity. Individual universities have taken steps toward more efficient internal organization, eliminating duplication of functions and making better use of available resources. Their efforts should be encouraged and, in the case of exemplary management practices, disseminated to other institutions. Similarly at the provincial level, especially in those provinces having large numbers and varieties of post-secondary institutions, there is a need for better coordination to eliminate duplication, respond to educational demand better, make better use of urgently-needed resources. Intra- provincial decentralization might be desirable in some cases. It would be desirable to support and encourage provinces that decide to create coordinating institutions to accomplish these ends. D. Education Finance 4.20 This sector study has revealed a number of significant points about financing of education in Argentina that influence the issues any future program needs to address. While policies regarding quality and equity are obviously of utmost importance, establishment of sound policies of educational finance are necessary conditions for sectoral development.  - 38 - 4.21 Creating Economic Analysis Capacity. Perhaps the most important step toward improving educational finance is simply institutionalizing the use of economic analysis to guide education sector policies and spending decisions. Activities funded under loan 2984-AR will contribute to better knowledge of financial implications of policies, and to formulation of policies that promote efficiency, effectiveness and equity. An important example is the creation of a Policy and Coordination Unit in the Office of the Minister of MEJ, which wfill provide needed capacity to perform economic and policy analyses. Other examples include strengthening MEJ's budgeting capacities and improving budget practices, studies of university governance, and provision of information processing capacities. Stronger management and analytical capabilities are also needed at the level of higher education and provincial institutions, recognizing that there are differences in their needs and capacities. In the longer run, efforts to improve management and policy making capacities and to base MEJ decisions and programs on economic analyses will develop MEJ's capacity for preparing policy- based lending activities. 4.22 Extend Revenue-Sharing Arrangements. Intergovernmental financial relations are critically important, and will become more so in the context of further decentralization and development of new approaches to higher education finance. The new revenue-sharing law (Ley de Coparticipacion) enacted in January, 1988, overcame long-standing difficulties in federal/provincial financial relations. The law is simple, equitable and reasonably transparent. While it tended to redress the problems caused by the 1978 decentralization of primary education, it may have fallen short of that objective. Further decentralization (whether of academic secondary schools alone or vocational and technical schools as well) will require some kind of additional adjustments or changes in the present law. Achieving an agreeable design for such financial arrangements is one of the most important challenges of decentralization. Federal funds can be especially important incentives and catalysts to encourage targeting of scarce public resources, as discussed in connection with primary education, and this possibility should be given careful consideration in designing revenue-sharing measures. 4.23 Develop Capacities for Lending to New Institutions. Argentina's federal structure and the movement toward decentralization mean that Banlc lending could perhaps be most effective if new approaches to lending were developed, so that implementing agents are reached directly. These new approaches might include the formation of capital funds for lending to provinces and (public and private) universities, or establishment of other on-lending arrangements that would give them access to capital on reasonable terms. 4.24 Incentives to Mobilize Additional Resources for Higher Education. There is at present a growing understanding of the need for additional resources for the universities. As experience has shown elsewhere, the one way for generating stable sources of income for universities is through, at least partial, cost recovery with student fees. As a first step, all parties to higher education policy decisions will need to acknowledge the need for additional resources, which may be more easily achieved than many have feared.  - 39 - Incentive programs would then need to be developed that would bring forth contributions from the beneficiaries of higher education (students), their families, or from institutions in the society that are indirect beneficiaries such as voluntary contributions from the industrial sector. For example, federal funds could be made available on a matching or counterpart basis to stimulate the search for new sources of contribution for the revenue. There should be a study of the feasibility of educational credit arrangements that would increase the ability of students to invest in their own education.  - 40 - V. AN INVESTMENT PLAN 5.1 The principal elements in an appropriate strategy for Argentina include (i) decentralization of the remaining service-delivery activities of the MEJ (mainly the federal secondary schools); (ii) improvements in management and institutional capacities at all levels of a new federal education structure; (iii) qualitative strengthening of elementary and secondary education so that all children have equitable access to education of good quality; (iv) improve- ments (within the context of institutional autonomy) of the efficiency, quality and relevance of higher education; and (v) generation of additional resources for the sector. In some instances these areas for action involve infrastructure investments but, because access levels are generally high and incremental demand for places will mainly serve the moderately-growing population, the share of infrastructure in the total investment program will be smaller than in other countries. To reap adequate benefits from an investment program for education, Argentina must change and strengthen sector policies. 5.2 Education finance should receive high priority in order to increase sector efficiency and promote equity and growth; and to reverse the trend of recent years which threatens a permanent reduction in admirable levels of human capital stock. We recommend that the decline of public spending on education should be arrested at about 3.5 percent of GNP, the level of recent years. Since total public spending is projected to decline in relation to GNP, tihis implies that education's share of the public budget should rise. The annual education budget would need to grow by about $130 million per annum during the period 1990-94 in order to maintain this percentage. If education's percentage share of public expenditures were to remain constant, however, its annual budget would only increase by $86 million per annum. Argentina will find it difficult to fill the $40-45 million-per-year financing gap under the present circum- stances of fiscal stringency. 5.3 The Bank has undertaken to lend in the social sectors fairly recently in Argentina. The Social Sector Technical Assistance Loan (Loan 2984-AR) has initiated activities to strengthen management and institutional capacities at the MEJ and to improve educational quality. The forthcoming Social Sector Investment Loan is expected to continue the need support of these activities, and also to finance some infrastructure investment. Nevertheless, the MEJ and the Ministry of Economy are concerned about the costs of federal involvement in education and the adequacy of the resources that will be available. In this time of economic crisis, the availability of counterpart funding for future investment by the Bank and other donors is a critical issue. The provinces on their part are deeply concerned about the structure of future federal financing in education.  - 41 - Outline of an Investment Program in Education 5.4 An investment program, besides continuing to completion the activities initiated under Loan 2984-AR should facilitate and provide strong incentives for decentralization--with equity--of education, and encourage Argentina to adopt and maintain desirable educational policies in the areas of qualitative strengthening, targeting resources on the poor, and improving the efficiency and relevance of both vocational/technical education and the universities. We now discuss five components of a possible investment plan: institutional strengthening, qualitative improvements, infrastructure, capital funds for on- lending and policy loans. 5.5 Institutional Strengthening. Continued funding will be required in order to bring to fruition the institutional strengthening activities initiated under Loan 2984-AR and expected to be continued under the Social Sector Investment Loan. Substantial amounts of continuing technical assistance would still be needed to institutionalize these programs and activities, and to initiate provincial educational planning and management. It would be desirable for donors and lenders to fund 100 percent of the costs of international technical assistance in order to bring the needed international expertise to bear. It is assumed they would also fund approximately 50 percent of local technical assistance and 50 percent of the cost of information technology for provincial education management and planning. 5.6 Qualitative Improvements. The cornerstone of quality improvement is a national educational assessment program. Based on the abundant knowledge already existing in the country, an assessment capacity should be created. The estimate of $10 million for this purpose is based on the costs of comparable activities in other countries, taking into account the passage of time and differences between specific circumstances. It is assumed that donors/lenders would finance 80 percent of the start up costs of this essential activity, in which the role of international technical assistance would again be critically important in bringing the best available practices to bear in designing the system and its operational structure. 5.7 Other activities already initiated under Loan 2984-AR include in- service programs to upgrade teacher skills and educational materials development for samples of federal secondary schools. These programs or modifications thereof will need to be continued, offered to all teachers including provincial personnel, and extended to the primary level. The costs of these continuing activities are estimated at US$25.00 per primary teacher per year and US$40.00 per year for secondary teachers. As improvements in the quality and efficiency of education will require time and patience, knowledge of how to intervene to enhance educational quality, and the commitment of adequate financial resources to this end. It would be desirable for donors and lenders to finance up to $20 million of the combined costs of these activities. The Bank can play a pivotal role in encouraging such a commitment of resources, in part by drawing attention to the potential cost-effectiveness such expenditures.  - 42 - 5.8 Infrastructure Investments. Although the need for additional educational infrastructure in Argentina is less than in most other Latin American countries, there is a need to bring federal facilities that are to be transferred to the provinces up to an adequate level of quality. Once this is achieved, provinces must be required to continue a program of maintenance and this will require assistance. The provinces should also be stimulated to maintain a continuing inventory of the status of their educational infrastruc- ture. Donor/lender financing should fill this role by covering a portion of the costs of maintenance and upgrading of facilities and enhancing local efforts. Through appropriate technical assistance the need for new construction has been estimated at 100,000 m2 on the basis of projected moderate rates of increase in enrollment, and its finance on unit costs of US$200.00 per square meter. This later figure is somewhat below the prevailing unit costs of construction in the federal capital and larger cities, on the assumption that incremental needs will be greatest in smaller communities and that the prevailing costs can be reduced somewhat without sacrificing true quality of teaching spaces. Repair and rehabilitation of at least one million square meters of existing facilities (at $20.00 per square meter) is based on preliminary results of the inventory study. The total infrastructure investment would be of the order of US$40 million. 5.9 Capital Funds for On-Lending. Once decentralization has taken place, the provinces will be the principal entities making educational plans, estimating costs and preparing investment programs. It will be desirable for lenders to adapt their modes of lending to work within this context in Argentina's education sector. This implies creating institutions and procedures whereby lenders can provide initial funding for revolving funds or other pools of resources to which the provinces can have recourse. These kinds of arrange- ments are being implemented in the Bank's operations with increasing frequency. The institutional strengthening, managerial and planning development activities already described are intended to produce capacities that will enable educational authorities to survive borrowing from an education investment fund or funds established for prescribed purposes. 5.10 Not only the provinces but also the universities will be in a position to prepare development projects and undertake major investment programs. The universities' autonomous status can be viewed as an advantage in terms of their ability to move in this direction. The study team has examined examples of project proposals prepared by a province and a university, even though no program to stimulate such proposals has begun and there are no institutional avenues for receiving, reviewing and funding them. The estimates for capital funds for provincial and institutional borrowing are conservative, especially when one considers that sound projects from the more sophisticated provinces and larger universities could readily amount to $5.0 million in each category over five years. Donors/lenders could fund a significant percentage of a new program to permit on-lending to sub-national borrowers--always with a central government guarantee of repayment--in the context of decentralization and implementation of new institutional arrangements.  - 43 - 5.11 Policy-Based Lending. As noted in para. 5.2, there will be a gap of some $41 million per year between the profile of spending foreseen without policy changes or implementation of actions recommended here. In order to provide an incentive to the government to adopt and implement feasible, equitable and economically sound policies and practices, the Bank could finance 50 percent of this gap. This would be less than 20 percent of the incremental expenditures required to maintain current levels of service provision and quality, and less than two percent of the total of over $2.0 billion per annum, which represents the annual investment in human capital education in Argentina.  - 44 - List of Reports Completed by the Argentina Sector Work Team (Restricted to Internal Use Only) Alvarado, Ricardo, Provecci6n de la Matricula Escolar de la Ensefianza Primaria, Media y Universitaria de la Argentina, por Provincias. 1980-2010. Proyecto MEJ/ME/Banco Mundial/PNUD 87/009; agosto de 1988. Delfino, Jos6 A., Los Determinantes del Aprendizale. Proyecto MEJ/PNUD 87/012. Proyecto MEJ/ME/Banco Mundial/PNUD 87/009; agosto de 1988. Delfino, Jose A., La Tecnologia Educativa. Proyecto MEJ/PNUD 87/012. Proyecto MEJ/ME/Banco Mundial/PNUD 87/009; agosto de 1988. Gertel, Hector R., Sistemas de Evaluaci6n v Meioramiento de la Ensefianza en la Argentina, Proyecto MEJ/PNUD 87/012. Proyecto MEJ/ME/Banco Mundial/PNUD 87/009; agosto de 1988. Petrei, A. Humberto y Cartas, Jose M., Costos de la Educaci6n Universitaria en Argentina. Buenos Aires, agosto de 1988. Petrei, A. Humberto; Cartas, Jose M.; y Maraviglia, Adriana R., Costos Educativos para los Niveles Elemental v Medio. Proyecto MEJ/PNUD 87/009. Proyecto MEJ/ME/Banco Mundial/PNUD 87/009; agosto de 1988. Petrei, A. Humberto y Delfino, Jose A., La Educaci6n v la Estructura de Ingresos en el Mercado Laboral. Proyecto MEJ/PNUD 87/012. Proyecto MEJ/ME/Banco Mundial/PNUD 87/009; agosto de 1988. Petrei, A. Humberto y Massano, Charles J., El Gasto Publico en Educaci6n: Comparaciones Internacionales. Proyecto MEJ/PNUD 87/012. Proyecto MEJ/ME/Banco Mundial/PNUD 87/009; agosto de 1988. Petrei, A. Humberto y Montero, Marcelo E., El Gasto Plublico en Educaci6n en Argentina. Proyecto MEJ/PNUD 87/012. Proyecto MEJ/ME/Banco Mundial/PNUD 87/009; agosto de 1988. Petrei, A. Humberto; Montero, Marcelo E; y Maraviglia, Adriana R., Estudio Comparativo de las Remuneraciones en el Sector Educaci6n. Proyecto MEJ/PNUD 87/009; agosto de 1988. Sanchez, Carlos E., Federalizaci6n. Descentralizaci6n y Financiamiento del Sistema Educativo; julio de 1987.  - 45 - Bibliographv Beccaria, Luis A. and Graciela C. Riquelme, El Gasto Social en Educaci6n v la Distribuci6n del Inareso. Colecci6n FLACSO, Serie Documentos e Informes de Investigaci6n No. 41. Buenos Aires, 1985. Beccaria, Luis A. and Graciela C. Riquelme, Efectos Distributivos del Gasto Puiblico en la Educaci6n Publica y Privada. Colecci6n FLACSO. Buenos Aires, 1985. Beccaria, L. y E. Martinez, La Influencia de la Educaci6n en la Distribuci6n del Inrreso. Un Analisis Exploratorio. Buenos Aires, Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos, 1985. Bertoni, Alicia N. L. de. PrediaRnostico del Sistema de Informaci6n Educativa (vols. I. II. Anexos). Ministerio de Educaci6n y Justicia (PNUD Proyecto ARG/87/011) Buenos Aires. 1987. (mimeographed reports). Braslavsky, Cecilia, La Discriminaci6n Educativa en Argentina. Colecci6n FLACSO. Buenos Aires, Grupo Editor Latinoamericano, 1985. Bravo, Hector Felix, El Estado y la Ensefiaza Privada. Buenos Aires, Editorial de Belgrano, 1984. Cano, Daniel, La Educaci6n Superior en la Argentina. Colecci6n FLACSO. Buenos Aires, Grupo Editor Latinoamericano, 1985. Consejo Federal de Inversiones, Regionalizaci6n Curricular en el Marco del Planeamiento de la Educaci6n. Buenos Aires, 1987. Consejo Federal de Inversiones, Producto Bruto Geografico 1970-1980. Buenos Aires, 1985. Cowen, R. and McLean M., International Handbook of Education Systems, Volume III. John Wiley & Son, 1984. Dieguez, H. and Petrecolla, A., "Distribuci6n de Ingresos en el Gran Buenos Aires', in P. Musgrove (ed.), Ingreso DesiRualdad v Pobreza en America Latina. Rio de Janeiro, ECIEL, 1982. Ferra, C., and Claramunt, A.M., Rentabilidad de la Educaci6n Primaria v Secundaria en Mendoza. Mendoza, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Facultad de Ciencias Econ6micas, 1985. Fundaci6n de Investigaciones Econ6micas Latinoamericanas (FIEL). Gasto Publico. Propuestas de Reforma del Sector Publico Araentino. Tomo III: Educaci6n, Salud y Seguridad Social, Buenos Aires, 1986. Gallart, Maria Antonia. La Racionalidad Educativa y la Racionalidad Productiva: las Escuelas Tecnicas v el Mundo del Trabajo. Encuentro Pedag6gico sobre la Educaci6n T6cnica. Buenos Aires, 1986  - 46 - Bibliography (Continued) Gertel, Hector R., Desarrollo, Educaci6n Superior v su Financiamiento en el Decenio de 1980. Universidad Nacional de C6rdoba, 1986. Gertel, H., De Sanctis M. and Pereyra, L., Educaci6n y Distribuci6n de Ingresos en la Ciudad de C6rdoba, en Anales de la XXI Reunion de la Asociaci6n Argentina de Economia Politica. C6rdoba, 1987. Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos, Censos Nacionales de Poblaci6n y Vivienda, Secretaria de Planificaci6n. 1960-1979-1980. Presidencia de la Naci6n, Republica Argentina. Buenos Aires. Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Economic and Social Progress in Latin America. Washington, 1987. Kugler Bernardo and George Psacharopoulos, Earnings and Education in Argentina: An Analysis of the 1985 Buenos Aires Household Survey. LATHR Paper. World Bank, Wac'hington, 1988. Ministerio da Educaci6n y Justicia. Analisis del Financiamiento v Administraci6n de la Educaci6n en un Contexto de Austeridad. Buenos Aires. Noviembre, 1988. Ministerio de Educaci6n y Justicia. Secretaria de Educaci6n. Direcci6n Gleneral de Planificaci6n Educativa. Conseio Nacional de Educaci6n Tecnica: Principales Realizaciones en el Ambito del CONET. Buenos Aires, 1988. Ministerio de Educaci6n y Justicia, Estadisticas de la Educaci6n (varias) 1972-1985. Departamento de Estadistica. Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Educaci6n y Justicia, Presupuesto por Programas (Elercicios varios). Direcci6n General de Presupuesto. Buenos Aires, 1975-1985. Ministerio de Educaci6n y Justicia, Politica de Transformaci6n Educativa. Secretaria de Educaci6n. Buenos Aires, 1987. Ministerio de Educaci6n y Justicia, De la Universidad de la Transici6n a la Universidad Democratica. Buenos Aires, 1987. Ministerio de Educaci6n y Justicia/OEA, Proyecto Especial Multinacional de Regionalizaci6n Educativa, Calidad de La Educaci6n - Aportes para su Analisis. Direcci6n General de Programaci6n Educativa. Buenos Aires, Repiiblica Argentina, 1988. Ministerio de Educaci6n y Justicia/OEA, Proyecto Especial Multinacional de Regionalizaci6n Educativa, Los Planes de Estudio Vigentes en el Nivel Medio en el Orden Nacional. Direcci6n General de Programaci6n Educativa. Buenos Aires, Republica Argentina, 1988. Municipalidad de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Secretaria de Educaci6n, Evaluaci6n del Disefno Curricular de 1981. Buenos Aires, 1987.  - 47 - Bibliography (Continued) Organizaci6n de Estados Americanos (OEA), Organizaci6n Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), Evaluaci6n de los Impactos Nutricionales v Educacionales v Analisis Costo-Efectividad del Proarama de Promoci6n Social Nutricional, Republica Argentina 1986-1987. Buenos Aires, 1987. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Education. Human Resources and Development in Argentina. Paris, 1967. Petrei, A. Humberto, El Gasto Piblico Social y sus Efectos Distributivos: Un Examen Comparativo de Cinco Paises de America Latina. ECIEL, Rio de Janeiro, 1987. Petrei, A. Humberto, Fiscal Relations Between the Central and Provincial Governments of Argentina. Buenos Aires, October 1987 (mimeo). Petty, Michael, The Argentine Educational System and its Impact on Peripheral Regions in Argentina, in Education and the Diversity of Cultures. Wien, Bohlan Verlag Koln, 1985. Provincia de Buenos Aires, Direcci6n General de Escuelas y Cultura, Informe sobre Funcionamiento del Servicio Educativo en la Provincia de Buenos Aires. La Plata, September 1987. Provincia de Santa Fe, Ministerio de Educaci6n y Cultura, Aspectos Fundamentales de la Realidad Educativa: Concreciones y Provectos. Santa Fe, 1987. Psacharopoulos, George, Returns to Education: A Further International Update and Implications. The Journal of Human Resources Vol. XX, No. 4 Fall 1985, pp. 584-604. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison. Schulthess, Walter E., El Gasto Publico en Educaci6n v sus Efectos Sobre la Distribuci6n del Ingreso de las Personas. Universidad Nacional de C6rdoba and Fundaci6n Mediterranea. C6rdoba, 1985. Tedesco, J.C., Braslavsky, C. y Carciofi, R., El Provecto Educativo Autoritario, Argentina 1976-1982. FLACSO, Grupo Editor Latinamericano. Buenos Aires, 1984. Universidad Nacional de la Plata, Avance Tecnologico. Modernizaci6n v Universidad. La Plata, 1987. The World Bank, Argentina: Economic Recovery and Growth. Country Study. Washington, 1987. The World Bank, Argentina: Social Sectors in Crisis. Country Study. Washington, 1988  Co"rt,. &detoId.cvtor. Cent,. I to r I . E4,c.t on Coop I tiO Rae,..n..t on E..ct,, R ...r_nt Ad.lt Rat. for l.-,t Cot Progr.a.,o OF P.r P.re.nt .P-.r.nt Ep.o.d.tu.s. L,t.-ye Pr--y, Pr'..' Pr,isrY Pr,..,, Rat. f-o Sceo" r,y Sanod-ry H.gh.r ea.. Pp Cap,ta OF Tot.l Al loatad to Rat. E-ro I Sohool St,d..t. Edocat,o Pr,.,,y to E-,rl Stod.nt. Enroll Y.:, mdl.p (usl8) Dsnotad to C..tr.l P,r.i.. (I) Rat.. Cyol. /T..cet, as P.,cant Sacnd.ry Rat. /T.ach.r Ra't, (17) (1979) Ed." Go C..rn..nt To(1976) (5 3)G/C*p. ta 5 3 8 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) 7) () (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) tii.1Ti 980 146b 6,70 63 14.6 -- ----- 103. 100 21 -- 99 73 13 20 90 C,.8. 8123~ ~~~~7 ,6506 77 85 0?3. 3'96 16 0 21 19 9.? 100 92. 18 22 60. 0.rn.y F Rt 79 61.2 12.200 4.6 9 9