National Universities in the face of the budget adjustment

Abstract

Given the process of budget adjustment on national universities by the government of Javier Milei, we raise some discussions to contribute to the debate on the current situation of universities in Argentina. First, we reflect on the role of higher education in the formation of attributes for social production and, therefore, in the formation of workforce. Considering the expansive process of higher education worldwide, we briefly characterize the conditions under which this process took place in Argentina during the last fifty years. In particular, it is noted that the growth of higher education rates occurred at the same time as a trend of falling wages and impoverishment of the working class as a whole. A review is made of the problems arising from this situation and of the orientations that have been gaining consensus in recent years in order to address them.
Finally, we reflect on some of the weaknesses of the universities to face the budget adjustment, focusing on the lack of articulation with other levels of the educational system and sectors, as well as on the need to sharpen the role of social criticism in the face of a powerful defense of public education.