Education in Argentina

Argentina has one of the finest educational systems in the Western Hemisphere, although its quality has eroded as budgets tightened in the late 20th century and the conservative influence of successive military governments has shaped the curriculum. Primary education is free and compulsory from ages 5 to 14. In 2005, 4.7 million pupils attended primary schools; 3.5 million attended secondary and vocational schools. Argentina’s literacy rate of 98 percent is one of the highest in Latin America.

In the early 2000s Argentina had about 30 national (federal government-funded) universities and about 20 private universities. The largest public university is the University of Buenos Aires, founded in 1821. Others are located at Córdoba (1613), La Plata (1905), Mendoza (1939), and Rosario (1968). The Catholic University of Argentina (1958) and National Technological University (1959) are both located in Buenos Aires. Since the 1980s Argentina’s state-run universities and colleges have suffered from inadequate investment in facilities, a lack of full-time faculty, and a failure to modernize the curriculum. Encarta