Argentina
Yacobitti Questioned the University Budget and Warned of Sharp Cuts in Key Items
The UBA vice-rector criticized the government’s 2027 bill and said it does not address the needs of the public system. He also pointed to a drop in funding for science, public works and salaries.
The vice-rector of the University of Buenos Aires, Emiliano Yacobitti, questioned the 2027 Budget sent by the Government to Congress and warned that the funds planned for national universities fell short of what the rectors are demanding.
According to the official bill, the university system would receive $7,349,082,049,312 next year. Of that total, $6,326,177,949,919 correspond to personnel expenses, operating costs and current transfers, while $1,022,904,099,393 appear in “below-the-line” items, with resources for science and technology, university hospitals, human resources strengthening and pre-university schools, among other items.
Against that backdrop, the rectors had set a funding need of $11.005 trillion as a starting point for 2027, arguing that this calculation also does not include projected inflation for next year.
In remarks to Radio Mitre, Yacobitti said the budget “consolidates” the Government’s priorities and argued that the public university system is not among them nor, in his view, is compliance with the university funding law.
The university leader said some items linked to the UBA have seen a sharp decline since 2023. He cited an 85% drop in science and technology and a 92% drop in public works and maintenance. He also said faculty salaries have lost 30.5% against December 2023.
He also said investment per student fell 28% over the past three years and compared that level of funding with that of other universities, such as the University of São Paulo and Mexico’s UNAM, noting that in some cases the difference is 10 to 15 times.
On the next steps in the dispute, Yacobitti said the matter could be taken to court and did not rule out strike action, although he stressed the impact that would have on students. He also mentioned continuing actions to make the conflict visible, such as the event held days ago in Plaza de Mayo.
According to La Nación, a new meeting was scheduled for Thursday between the Government, unions and representatives of the rectors. The outlet recalled that at the last meeting, held on September 1, there was no agreement and the unions rejected a 3% pay raise offer presented by the Undersecretary of University Policies, Alejandro Álvarez.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not do original reporting on this event.
