If you only have a few seconds, read these lines:
- The national government launched the “educational vouchers” assistance program: a temporary benefit for families whose children attend private schools with a state contribution of 75% or more, and a fee that does not exceed $54,396.
- Additionally, family income must not be greater than the equivalent of 7 minimum vital and mobile salaries ($1,419,600). 50% of the value of the single-day fee will be received and the voucher will have a limit of $27,198 per child.
- More than 10 thousand private schools in Argentina have a state subsidy, according to the latest data (2022) from the Secretariat of Educational Evaluation and Information.
The national government made the “Educational Vouchers” assistance program official, a temporary benefit for families who send their children to private schools with a subsidy of 75% or more, and a fee that does not exceed $54,396.
It was through resolution 61/2024 published on March 20 in the Official bulletin, with the signature of Sandra Pettovello, Minister of Human Capital. From the organization, through the Ministry of Education, they estimated that the measure “could reach nearly 2 million children who attend more than 6 thousand schools throughout the country.”
In this note, we tell you what the benefit consists of, what amount the “educational vouchers” will have and how to register.
Who will be able to access the new “educational vouchers” program?
As established in the Official Gazette, under the resolution 61/2024the assistance program “Educational Vouchers” will consist of “a temporary benefit in favor of families whose children attend privately managed public educational institutions at initial, primary and secondary levels with state contributions.”
The people who will be able to register for the benefit will be those who “exercise parental responsibility for students up to 18 years of age” who “attend privately managed public educational institutions.” Establishments must have at least 75% state subsidy and a fee that does not exceed $54,396.
The last requirement indicates that family income cannot exceed the equivalent of 7 minimum vital and mobile salaries. According to the latest update in March, this corresponds to a value of up to $1,419,600.
The implementation of the program could reach almost 2 million children who attend more than 6 thousand schools nationwide, according to provisional data of the Ministry of Education.
How much will the amount of “educational vouchers” be?
Families that adhere to the “Educational Vouchers” program will receive 50% of the value of the single-day fee, not including extra-programmatic activities, based on the base fee (March 2024) for May, June and July. The voucher will have a limit of $27,198 per child.
The benefit will consist of a “determined, non-contributory and monthly” sum of money for each child who attends an educational institution that meets the established characteristics, as detailed in article 3 of the resolution.
How to register for the program?
Registration for the “Educational Vouchers” assistance program will be open from April 3 to 30, according to reports an official statement of the Ministry of Human Capital.
Families that meet the requirements and want to access the benefit may do so by completing a form that will be available soon at argentina.gob.ar.
In the registration, a CBU must be included where the voucher money will be credited and the educational establishment the student attends must be informed.
More than 10 thousand private schools have state subsidies in Argentina
The educational system in Argentina is made up of state-run institutions and privately run institutions, as we explain in this note.
The actual National Education Law, enacted in 2006 as a modification to the original 1964 regulations, determines that private schools can receive subsidies from the State if they meet certain criteria, to offer families a more economical fee. These subsidies are intended to pay teacher salaries and their regulation is in the hands of the provincial governments.
In this way, today there are in the country about 46 thousand public schools and 14 thousand private schoolsaccording to latest data of the Secretariat of Educational Evaluation and Information, dependent on the former Ministry of Education (now Secretariat of the Ministry of Human Capital). And, of these 14 thousand private schools, more than 10 thousand are subsidized by the State.
On the other hand, the distribution of subsidies to these schools varies according to each province. According to the survey, the 3 jurisdictions with the highest number of subsidies to private schools are the Province of Buenos Aires (with a number of 3,966 schools), Santa Fe (991) and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (958). At the other extreme are provinces such as Chubut (55), Santa Cruz (47) and Tierra del Fuego (37).
Martin Nistal, research coordinator of the Argentinos por la Educación Data Observatory and co-author of the report “Subsidies to private education: For what and for whom?”commented in dialogue with Chequeado: “73% of children at compulsory levels go to state schools, 22% go to private schools with state subsidies, and 5% of children go to private schools that do not receive any funding. by the State.”
What is the difference between “educational vouchers” and school subsidies?
“Today the owners of the schools, the institutions, generally receive a subsidy to subsidize part of their teaching staff. The State has been paying private schools with the aim of lowering their prices and, with this subsidy, if they lower their prices, more children can access the private sector in a cheaper way. This is thinking that otherwise these kids would go to the state sector and it would be more expensive for the State,” Nistal explained to Chequeado.
On the other hand, in a voucher system, the subsidy would go directly to the students’ families. “Of course, it depends on how it is applied, but voucher models are subsidies to students. The State finances a certain voucher value for each student and private schools take that voucher as payment. The subsidy is no longer for the private school, but for the student,” added the researcher.
During the 2023 election campaign, the electoral platform of La Libertad Avanza already proposed a 9-point reform on education. The first consisted of developing a system of “educational check vouchers” to decentralize the educational system, “giving the budget to parents” instead of giving it to the ministry, financing demand, and generating “competition between educational institutions from the curricular point of view.” all levels of education, incorporating more hours of subjects such as mathematics, language, science and ICT, or through orientation and/or infrastructure.”