Overview of Education System

Argentina has a federal education system. During the 1990s, school administration was transferred from the national government to state governments.2,3,4 Still, the national government plays an important role in defining and funding educational policies and targeted programs.

Public school curricula, budgets, and policies are determined by state governments. Argentina comprises the autonomous City of Buenos Aires and 23 provinces, each of which has responsibility for funding and managing its own educational system. The decision making process at the school level is highly centralized with limited autonomy for principals in selecting teachers, deciding curricula, and administering budgets.5,6,7 Public schools are funded by city budgets and provide free education at the prekindergarten, kindergarten, primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, including that at the university level in undergraduate programs.

Private schools are granted more pedagogical autonomy but still required to follow state curriculum standards, and are free to determine their own staffing policies. Families pay for private education, although in some cases (especially in primary and secondary schools) the state provides financial aid through a subsidy scheme designed to help finance teacher salaries, wholly or partially.

Education is compulsory throughout Argentina from prekindergarten (age 4) to the completion of secondary school. The Buenos Aires education system is organized as four levels:

  • Early childhood education comprises prekindergarten and kindergarten and serves children from 45 days to 5 years old
  • Primary education comprises Grade 1 (age 6) to Grade 7 (age 12)
  • Secondary education spans five or six years depending on the track and is divided into two cycles: a three year basic cycle and a second cycle of three to four years, organized by subject discipline or vocational path
  • Tertiary education comprises technical or professional education, including basic teacher education programs

When PIRLS 2016 was administered there were 879 primary schools in Buenos Aires, as shown in Exhibit 1.

Exhibit 1: Enrollment in Prekindergarten, Kindergarten, Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Schools in the City of Buenos Aires in 20158

Level of Education Sector Total
Public Private
Number of Schools Prekindergarten and kindergarten* 219 468 687
Primary 457 422 879
Secondary 150 338 488
Tertiary 55 198 253
Enrollment Prekindergarten and kindergarten* 35,112 40,895 76,007
Primary 145,214 136,437 281,651
Secondary 90,878 93,477 184,355
Tertiary 41,219 62,922 104,141

*For children ages 4 and 5