Education in crisis

What went wrong with the education system in Argentina?

Argentina used to have a relatively long tradition of a firm belief in education as way to achieve progress and development of society. In spite of the difference in people's view on why education is useful, Argentines agreed it was essential to the growth of the country. It was not until the military junta took over power in 1976 that this firm belief in education started declining as a result of a thorough sack of the education system.

Firstly, the de facto government literally emptied the education system in Argentina. The military junta passed laws whose sole objective was to fragment the education system in order to cut costs. The government decentralized the sector so as to lighten the burden that the State was expected to shoulder. These measures together with a re-designed censored curricula weakened the education area. Once democracy returned, the education system was not strong enough to face the challenges that a poorer and hurt society presented.

Secondly, the fact that the policy of the military junta was to abolish all types of independent thinking may have hurt the system from an institutional point of view. Books were prohibited, certain activities as simple as reading the news in class were forbidden and teachers were stalked by the fear of being arrested or purged. These measures shattered the dreams of society of improving as a country and as citizens. The policy of using schools as a way of spreading fear and obedience deeply damaged the essence of education.

Thirdly, by emptying the education system physically and morally, the military junta’s measures may have resulted in a general feeling of distrust and disbelief towards education. Due to the fact that the system had been weakened and could no longer provide solutions or accept the challenges of improvement and development, Argentines started distrusting their own governments and institutions. Thet could no longer see the benefits of receiving an education because the system was no longer ready to cater to heir needs.

In conclusion, during the unconstitutional government, the Argentine education system may have suffered serious injuries which could not be easily healed. The damage caused economically, socially and culturally was too great for the system to recover easily. Since then, people have not trusted the system nor the State. This distrust has led people to cease to demand the government to work on education and other aspects of Argentine's social life.

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