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Latest Country Updates
Jul 19, 2024

Secondary school in the Province changes: the year will no longer be repeated

The province of Buenos Aires announced on Thursday that starting next year, the traditional system of repeating a year in secondary school will be eliminated in favor of one that will be governed by the passing of subjects.

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Dec 27, 2023

A new Curriculum Design for Youth Secondary Education will be implemented in Argentina

In a meeting with directors, details were transmitted about this initiative that focuses on more participatory pedagogical methods adapted to the needs of young people, with the firm intention of promoting their active involvement in their own learning and comprehensive development.

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Dec 26, 2023

Mendoza province of Argentina, registration for secondary education begins

Through memoranda 476, 480 and 483, the General Directorate of Schools (DGE) announced the start of registration for the first year of secondary education of the 2024 school year in the province of Mendoza .

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Aug 28, 2023

A new Curriculum Design for Secondary Education for Youth will be implemented in Argentina

In a meeting with directors, details were transmitted about this initiative that focuses on more participatory pedagogical methods adapted to the needs of young people, with the firm intention of promoting their active involvement in their own learning and comprehensive development.

Learn more »

Aug 25, 2023

Secondary education students in Argentina only 13% finish on time

A report from the Argentine Observatory for Education exposes the low percentage of graduates in 2022 who did so within the expected period and with satisfactory knowledge of Language and Mathematics.

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Dec 5, 2022

Accelerate changes in Argentina high school in the face of the learning setback

The latest results of the Aprender test, which showed that only 53 out of 100 male and female students complete compulsory schooling on time, accelerated the need to introduce modifications to improve learning and make secondary school more attractive.

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Jan 11, 2022

Buenos Aires government announced a key change in secondary education

Horacio Rodríguez Larreta and the Buenos Aires government provided details of the educational practices program in the workplace that will govern from 2022 in all secondary schools in the City of Buenos Aires.

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Nov 22, 2021

Throughout the country, undergraduate and tertiary students take and take their exams thanks to the Digital Points

In the framework of the health emergency caused by COVID-19 and with the purpose of guaranteeing pedagogical continuity at the higher level, the Digital Points collaborate with the development of courses and tertiary and university exams.

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Nov 5, 2021

New educational proposal on Argentina for people over 18 years old

The Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Technology signed an agreement with the Municipal and Provincial State Employees Union (SEMUP) to join forces in the implementation of a blended educational proposal, generating more opportunities for adults to study and certify the studies of the Secondary Level.

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Oct 13, 2021

Argentina Academic Calendar 2021

Argentina moves forward with their examination schedule for 2021. Examinations will continue throughout the country and will conclude in December 2021.

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Jan 26, 2021

Education officials authorise return of classes under ‘traffic light’ scheme

Federal Education Council unanimously approves re-opening of classrooms in educational institutions, subject to the discretion of each district.

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ARCHIVED COUNTRY STUDY: (PDF)

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Argentina

Overview

La República de Argentina (The Argentine Republic) is a federal constitutional republic located in southern South America, rising from the South Atlantic Ocean to the highest point in the Andes, Mount Aconcagua, on the northwest border with Chile which forms its entire western border. Bolivia and Paraguay form the northern border, and Uruguay and Brazil lie to the east. Argentina covers the second largest area in South America; only Brazil is larger. The capital and largest city is Buenos Aires; other major cities include Córdoba, Mendoza, Rosario, and Mar del Plata. With a population of some 40 million persons, mostly of white European ancestry (largely Italian and Spanish) with a small percentage (about 3%) of mestizos and native Amerindians. The official language of Argentina is Spanish (Castellano), and the religion of the majority of the population is Roman Catholic with a small number of Protestants, Jews, and others which total less than 10%.

Argentina's political history has been interesting and complicated, military governments having been a dominant force. After its exploration by Juan Díaz de Solís in 1516, the country developed slowly under Spanish colonial rule, partly due to the decline of the Spanish empire. After British occupation during the early 19th century, and Napoleon's defeat of Spain in 1808, Argentina declared its independence on July 9, 1816. After World War II, Colonel Juan Perón was elected president, and his popularity grew due to his wife Evita's charitable works. His political fortunes declined due to opposition to increasing authoritarianism, and in 1955, after Evita's death, a military coup sent him into exile. After a period of rule by military dictatorships, Perón was returned to power in 1973, and his third wife, Isabel de Perón, was elected as his vice president and became president upon his death in 1974. Political unrest and economic insecurity gave rise to a lengthy period of civil turmoil with mostly military rule until elections in 1989 returned the Peronistas to power. President Carlos Menem initiated strict deregulation and privatization measures designed to address the serious recession in Argentina, which in large part did not work. Soon, his political and economic policies lost him the support of the poor and working class, the same people who had supported his election, and in 1999, Fernando de la Rúa became president, continuing and increasing the austere economic measures, but without positive results. Argentina was on the brink of economic collapse and widespread protest against the government's policies forced the president to resign, leading Congress to name a new president in 2002. In 2003, Néstor Kirchner, former governor of Santa Cruz and a Peronista, was elected president. His agenda focused on aggressive economic and political reform, and since he took office, Argentina's debt has been restructured, and the growth rate was reported at about 8% in 2005.

Education

Education and cultural development have been influenced by political trends. President Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (1868-1874), was the first president to address the need for education in the context of development. His legacy included the building of schools and libraries throughout the country and bringing in European educators. During his presidency, enrollment in public schools more than doubled. The first formal legislation to promote universal education came in 1884 when the Law of Common Education was passed. This provided for free, compulsory, and secular education; however, the secular nature of the educational system created problems with the Roman Catholic hierarchy. Religious education was reestablished in the 1940s. The development of education has also been influenced by the use of censorship and propaganda to attempt to achieve political goals and by serious economic crises. Argentina has one of the highest literacy rates in Latin America, estimated at about 97%.

The Argentine educational structure was introduced by European educators, especially from Spain. A strong emphasis has been placed on career training, and military education has also played an important role in the development of the educational system. Academic education includes both free, public institutions and private schools from preschool through university. Currently, the Ministerio de Educación, Ciencia y Tecnología serves as the country's ministry of education.

Primary and Secondary Education

Compulsory education is made up of the cycle of Educación General Básica (EGB) (Basic General Education), grades 1 through 9. Secondary education, now known as Polimodal, provides the option to study academic or specialized career training tracks, and completion of a 3- (sometimes 4-) year course is the requirement for admission to higher education.

Post-Secondary Education

Higher education in Argentina includes carreras cortas (short undergraduate programs), licenciatura or título profesional (professional first cycle degrees), and graduate programs through studies leading to the degrees of especialista, maestría, and doctorado.


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