TO NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES
2. THE UNIVERSITY OF BUENOS AIRES
The University of Buenos Aires was founded in 1821 and is located in the heart of Argentina’s largest and most cosmopolitan city. With a student enrolment of roughly 170,000 students, UBA is by far the country’s largest university. A member of the League of World Universities, UBA’s programmatic structure includes the following major schools: Law and Social Sciences, Economic Sciences, Exact and
HIGHER EDUCATION: THE CHALLENGE TO NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES
Natural Sciences, Meteorology, Architecture, Philosophy and Letters, Engineering, Medicine, Agriculture, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Veterinary Sciences, Psychology, and Social Sciences.
UBA is emblematic of the democratic ideals of higher education, offering a high degree of access to the poor and lower-middle classes. With its open door policy, minimal fees, and coverage of the most advanced segments of science and technology in the country, UBA is the flagship of higher education in the Southern Cone (more or less the southern half of South America). As one of the oldest universities in the region, it reflects, more than most Latin American institutions, the Napoleonic tradition of serving the state through the preparation and training of public servants. Ironically, the vast majority of contemporary Argentinean elites who now advocate privatisation were in fact educated at UBA.
Our research team visited UBA in the spring of 2002 with one member spending two months in the city as part of a sabbatical leave. Consequently, we were able to observe events in Argentina and Buenos Aires over an extended period of time.
Additionally, due to the fact that one member of our research team is a citizen of Argentina and has numerous connections to professors and high-ranking officials affiliated with UBA and the Ministry of Education, we gained access to several key individuals. For example, we were able to interview the following people: a leading Argentine economist and Professor at UBA; the Secretary of Academic Affairs at UBA; the Secretary of University Politics at the Ministry of Education; the Secretary of Technology, Science, and Innovation and President of the National Council of Scientific and Technical Investigations (CONICET); a leading Argentine scholar at UBA specialising in higher education; and an engineering professor well known for his administrative expertise in higher education. Interviews with the preceding individuals were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim and form the basis for the key themes discussed in this section (most were translated from Spanish to English).
Our discussions with key analysts centred on the changing political and economic context for public universities in Argentina with a particular focus on globalisation and its implications for UBA. Of course, the economic crisis loomed large and was as inescapable as the pounding from the nightly cacerolazos – groups of protesters who march through the streets of Buenos Aires pounding on pots and pans. Although one might claim that the economic crisis “slants” our findings, it could just as easily be argued that the crisis served as a powerful lens for focusing on globalisation and the changing role of the public university.
2.1 The Economic Crisis and the Need for Reform
Much of our interactions centred on the role of globalisation in shaping the contemporary context for the Argentine public university. In general, globalisation was viewed as an imposition by outside forces mainly acting upon the Argentine economy. In fact, some described globalisation as a form of “economic colonialism”
sanctioned by the U.S. As one professor explained, “Globalisation to us means
economic hegemony from the North in terms of providing the sole model to be adopted by the nations of the globe.” This individual went on to describe a research team that she is part of and their efforts to make sense of globalisation and its impact on universities. She noted that within the research group there was a strong tendency to see “globalisation as Americanisation”; that is, the group believes that many of the transnational economic policies supposedly designed to open up world markets actually serve the interests of powerful policy makers such as the U.S.
A key point stressed by several individuals was the fact that while globalisation may be inevitable, it does not necessarily produce homogeneous results. That is, global forces interact with local realities and the consequences vary from one country to the next. “Globalisation,” explained one individual, “is a very powerful wind that will be blowing with great intensity for the foreseeable future. But the impact of globalisation in Argentina, though, largely depends on domestic factors. . . Globalisation is an objective force in history, but the concrete effects are filtered by the local political, cultural, and economic situations. One effect may be felt in a country like Mexico. A different effect may be seen in Argentina, or Korea, or Taiwan.”
Several interview participants criticized forms of globalisation advanced by powerful NGOs such as the World Bank and the IMF. One expert found it more than interesting that several years ago, when he had argued that international agencies were driving Argentina’s public policies, he had received a great deal of criticism, but now things have changed. As he explained, “Nowadays, no one, not even right- wing scholars have a single doubt about the international impact on national and local productivity, because the IMF is deciding our daily lives and there is no doubt about the impact and the consequence of this.” This individual went on to add, “It’s interesting to realize that all we have published, all we have said, all of a sudden is just the most cruel truth that we are dealing with, that we are totally dependent on what leaders within the IMF think of us.” The irony, of course, is that former President Menem had been recognized by the IMF as one of its most faithful followers. “So, we were the model for the rest of the world. . . . We were doing exactly what they asked of us.”
Directives from NGOs may add to funding problems faced by UBA. There is a strong push to decrease public support – this despite the country’s historical commitment to free public higher education. One expert described a movement sponsored by major financial institutions, including the World Bank, to advance the privatisation of higher education. “There are powerful people saying that university education should not be public. Or, if it is public, one should have to pay for it. The idea that the university is for elites is becoming increasingly popular. . . . Structural adjustment polices imposed upon the country over the past 15 to 20 years are pushing the idea that the university is something that should be privatized and the state should not be involved. These policies suggest that we should be devoting our resources to elementary and high school education. Forget the university. This movement is growing stronger by the hour.”
Despite financial problems, the dominant perception was that even when economic recovery arrives, there are major concerns about the degree to which the government will support its public universities. This has led to serious questions
HIGHER EDUCATION: THE CHALLENGE TO NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES
about the future of state-supported universities in Argentina. One expert explained that forces are at work to fundamentally alter the identity of the Argentine university, to “basically reflect the American model and see the market as the driving force for the university.” As this individual pointed out, such a view suggests that the purpose of the university is to transform human resources to match the labour market. This perspective clashes with UBA and its European-style model, whereby the university prepares “professionals to occupy the civil sector and meet broad public needs.”
Nearly everyone acknowledged that major reforms may be needed at UBA and other state-supported universities. One individual suggested that Argentine universities should have been reformed in the 1970s, when universities in Mexico and Brazil were reformed. “The Argentine university began to reform, too, but the military coup interrupted that. So, after the coup, reform did not continue. All we saw was the liberalisation of the political life of the university. Thus, the Argentine university arrives at the age of globalisation without having solved the pre- globalisation problems that it had.” Given the importance that universities play in processes linked to globalisation, Argentina faces a difficult challenge.
2.2 Access to Higher Education
A key aspect of a country’s economic development and its ability to compete in a global environment is the development and support of a highly skilled workforce (Reich, 1991). But this is a major challenge in Argentina, because of the lack of a strong educational structure undergirding the development of human capital. For example, although attendance at public universities in Argentina is free, the reality is that few Argentines from low-income backgrounds are likely to attend a university.
As one individual explained, “Access is a key question. I believe that the public university, although it is free, doesn’t help the poor. It’s very simple. The university students we have are not the children of labourers. It’s hard for them to get to the university, even though it’s public and free.” A major part of the problem is attrition at the pre-college level. A faculty member explained the problem in the following manner: “If you take 100 students at say first grade what you will find is that the number of people who finally make it to a university and graduate is less than four.
So, there is very little access, because there is dramatic attrition at the very initial levels of the primary system. So, the university is essentially an elitist university.
However, not all of the people who are there are members of the elite. At best, it is a middle-class phenomenon. The poor do not make it to the university. The poor desert the system and we can never recover them.”
One expert suggested that a solution to the problem rests with a revision of the Argentine tax system. Argentina relies too much on indirect taxes, taxes to the consumer, he explained. Consequently, taxation does not impact people in relation to their earnings. Therefore, lower-income sectors of the population pay proportionally more than higher-income sectors. And given that the higher-income
sectors are more likely to receive a quality education and go on to attend a free public university, they benefit disproportionately from public revenues. This individual suggested that the solution is to adjust the burden of taxation and provide necessary educational services and support to where they are most needed – among the poorest sectors of the society in the form of improved primary and secondary education and financial assistance for university studies. Another individual supported a similar notion and used the phrase “democratic debt” to describe the need for Argentine society to see education as a necessity for its entire population.
2.3 Faculty Work and Scientific Support
Although the recent economic crisis has exasperated problems, the reality is that the Argentine public university offers marginal economic support for faculty work.
One individual stated the problem succinctly: “Salaries are very low, a little lower than those in Mexico and Brazil. Today, a full-time professor with seniority can be paid about 2,000 pesos a month [roughly US$670].” As a consequence, many professors have other careers; they simply cannot survive as full-time professors.
There are many “taxi cab professors,” noted one individual. “People are always travelling between jobs. They want to be exemplary professors, but they just don’t have the time. They have other work to do.”
Despite the lack of adequate financial support, the basic educational mission of the university is maintained by a tradition in which teaching is viewed as a form of public service. In essence, many professors at Argentine universities see their teaching as a contribution to the larger social good. One individual said it best:
“There is a cultural element that helps to sustain the function of the university system; that is, there is a long ingrained tradition which says that the university and the teaching activities in this country are akin to the work of a missionary. So, many people think that, ‘Well, if I get paid, great, but if I don’t, that’s ok, because I have to spread the word.’ The problem is that this goes against the general tendency that we see overseas and in most countries in Latin America in which you have full-time professors.” It was pointed out that although the tradition of teaching as public service certainly is admirable and the a sentiment worthy of preservation, running a university based on part-time professors may limit its intellectual vitality.
Within the Argentine university, the research and teaching functions are somewhat separate, with research often occurring within university institutes and centres, while teaching takes place within academic programs. Thus, while it may be possible to support academic programs with part-time, “missionary-minded” faculty, this is less likely to work with regard to the research function. Consequently, and in the light of marginal economic support, the Argentine university in general and UBA in particular face serious challenges in developing and sustaining scientists and scientific investigation. One individual pointed out that Argentina lacks an internal structure to support scientists and their research. Instead, they must rely almost entirely on external funds simply to maintain an infrastructure. “Argentina cannot maintain an infrastructure for scientific development. It can’t pay their salaries and fund their research. . . . We need a structure that permits a scientist to
HIGHER EDUCATION: THE CHALLENGE TO NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES
conduct his research, exchange ideas with colleagues, and pays him well enough to live decently, not wealthily, but with dignity.” This individual pointed out that without such a structure Argentina loses some of its top scientists to other countries.
A point of concern is the need to look past the current economic crisis toward Argentina’s long-range future. What is needed, maintained one expert, is to “give greater attention to developing intellect.” He went on to add, “The only way to export value is to cultivate intellect in the university and to support research, innovation, and put that creativity into the products that the country can sell.” This individual went on to point out that Argentina presently produces only about 500 doctoral graduates in all the sciences every year and that 30,000 may be needed over the next ten years. Another expert in this area suggested that for every dollar invested, Argentina would get three back. This individual also noted that legislation recently had been passed to increase support for science and technology, but the economic crisis made it impossible to provide the funds to the universities.
2.4 Connections to Industry.
A final theme that yielded some contentious results concerns the role of industry in supporting scientific development at public universities such as UBA. Some felt that building such connections were necessary, given the lack of state support for public universities. Others, however, saw university-industry partnerships as antithetical to a democratic university. A supporter of university-industry connections explained the need in this manner: “A crucial goal is to form a new alliance between scientific and technological research and industry. Globalisation and the knowledge society compels us to look at this fundamental connection. If not, Argentina will be in the same position it was in during the 1980s. We cannot survive as exporters of commodities and importers of technology.”
Although one often hears complaints in the U.S. that universities are too tied to corporate-industry interests, the case is much different at UBA. In fact, a few of the individuals with whom we spoke complained of a lack of connection between the university and outside interests, including the interests of the business community.
As one colleague noted, “While in the U.S. one might complain about corporatisation, in Argentina the opposite problem may in fact exist. In Argentina, I would say that the dominant idea is that the university is an autonomous body, because we had to struggle for many years against political intrusion. Thus, a strong tradition has formed in which university life is to be something entirely autonomous.
The result of this is very, very low levels of connection with firms and even with the community.”
But forging university-industry partnerships is complicated in Argentina. In fact, any discussion of university-industry connections must begin with at least some mention of the historical relevance of university autonomy and powerful beliefs about universities operating independent of external forces (the 1918 Córdoba Reform played a key role in advancing the autonomy of Latin American
universities). One individual with whom we spoke was particularly disturbed by increasing connections between universities and corporations: “But, nowadays, corporatisation is totally overwhelming the purposes of universities. So, for students there is no possibility of demanding some kind of public specialties. Like, for instance, if you look at architecture; there is no urban architecture anymore because it is not marketable. The same thing happens if you look at lawyers and doctors;
there is no public health, and it used to be really, very important. . . .For me, marketisation of the university is the privatisation of minds. You are being prepared to belong to corporate enterprises.”
3. THE NATIONAL AUTONOMOUS UNIVERSITY OF MEXICO