Héctor R. Gertel

Issues and perspectives for higher education in Argentina in the 1990s

In Argentina, inadequate financing of higher education is an old rather than a new issue. The paper takes a close look at the financing issues associated with the evolution of national universities in Argentina in 1960–1990. Accordingly, the first and second sections highlight the major trend of the last thirty years in student population, faculty staff and goverment spending. The third section explores the teaching and research labor market covered by the national universities. The fourth section includes a discussion of several proposals under debate to ease existing constraints to the financing of higher education. Finally, the feasibility of these proposals, as well as their limitations and possibilities in the light of the the long run trend in enrollment and expenditures reviewed in the previous sections are discussed.

Quality-Oriented Management of Higher Education in Argentina

Globalization is a central concern in higher education. Globalization in education implies the recognition that investment in knowledge acquisition and dissemination is not only necessary for keeping high standards of economic and social well-being but also essential in times of economic downturns. Global research competition affects academic output of individual countries, transforming the labor market for science and the professions, and promoting improvements in teaching (Hicks 2007). Globalization in general and in higher education are intricately linked. Within this paradigm, the challenge higher education institutions (HEIs) are facing today is how to timely react to globalization, and how to accommodate themselves to massive demands while still assuring the delivery of quality teaching and research (Perez Lindo 1998, 51). As a consequence, many countries have begun to implement innovative procedures for higher education quality assurance.

The Shadow Education Market of a Mass Higher Education Institution in Argentina

Private Supplementary Tutoring (PST) is the most visible form of shadow education market, which permeates all levels of schooling worldwide, including post-secondary education. First introduced as a metaphor by Mark Bray and others in the late 1990s (Bray, 2009), the term has since stimulated explorations of the demand and supply regarding PST in a variety of institutional settings in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America (i.e. Japan in Stevenson & Baker, 1992, Central Europe in ESP 2006, South Korea in Kim & Park, 2010, South-East Asia in Bray & Lykins, 2012, China in Zheng, 2013).