Controversy for a course of entry for aliens from the University of La Matanza that costs 60 thousand pesos

At the end of the 2018 school year, a resolution of Superior Council of National University of La Matanza (UNLaM) The controversy erupted at the announcement of the establishment of a Spanish and Spanish-American language literature course. mandatory for candidates who do not speak the Spanish language whose value is 60 thousand pesos.

The measure has attracted criticism from foreign students, mainly Brazilian citizenswho raised the voice "The problem is not the route, but the amount they want to charge us," he said. Infobae Luiz Guilherme da Silvawho studies medicine. "It's an absurd price for the duration of a course that is not charged by any other university," added the 22-year-old who arrived in the country in April 2017.

The resolution was published at the end of last December and is addressed to "people interested in undergraduate and graduate degrees whose country of exit from high school is not Spanish-speaking". On February 18, registrations were opened for the 2019 cycle, which runs from March 11 to May 18. The approval of this new course is a requirement for subsequent registration at the UNLaM entry course. Those who pbad it will receive a certificate whose validity will be extended to three consecutive school years.

The course is face to face and includes a 80 hours chargedistributed in 8 hours a week, while 10 weeks. They are, in total, thousand modules They are worth $ 60 each.

The organization "Autoconvocados Students UNLaM" has been added to the complaint. She dismissed the resolution on the grounds that it was "a violation of rights" which "is intended only to exclude those who can not pay" the expenses of the corporation. registration. In this sense, the group asked to go back with this measure "contrary to the law on higher education".

"We understand this as disguised privatization because you think that Brazilians come here to live, to study, and such a requirement discourages you from registering because paying 60 lucas does not even guarantee income," he said. Clara, so-called students, in dialogue with Infobae.

"The majority (of those affected) are Brazilian students who come to study medicine because the values ​​are impossible," the student said. "I see comments in which they tell us that we have to go back home (Brazil), that there is no need to come to Argentina to study, but that we have to pay taxes. I would like to be in my country, with my family, my friends, but I do not have this opportunity to study as I have it here"Said Guilherme da Silva.

Finally, Clara, who also complained about the lack of dissemination of the resolution, said that "this Thursday at 7 pm, a new badembly will look into this xenophobic argument, which is a stupidity that does not no Sens".

The answer of UNLaM

The initiative was born – explained to UNLM – after observing the difficulties of non-Spanish speaking students when they were tackling the study material, making their presentations and their written examinations. Thus, "the course has among its objectives to compensate for the lack of literacy to promote the academic development of their students," says the release of the house of studies.

Infobae communicated with the rector of the institution Daniel Martínez, who explained what had driven them to make the decision to add the new course: "In the medical career, a significant number of Brazilians were registered, over 500 considering the last. We started having serious difficulties because they do not speak Spanish properly, they speak "portuñol". ", has begun.

He continued: "The curriculum is delayed, which can be seen throughout the semester or year can not be seen in its entirety because they do not fully understand the language.Another aggravating factor: the correction: teachers are slow to correct their work because not only do they have problems to listen, they also write with a lot of errors or misspelling"

Faced with this situation, Martínez said that they had suggested the students to deepen the practice by themselves, but since they had not found a positive answer, they have followed a course. extracurricular for which they must "hire teachers to be paid".

"The course has a totally insignificant value. Brazilians come to study because only 1% go to university. They come to reach their goal. There, the medical career pays 90,000 pesos a month for six years. We charge them 60,000 pesos for the whole course. If we compare it's practically insignificant. This is not a measure against which they must be, "he said.

"Some say that we discriminate, that we are xenophobic. For us it is a simple logic. If you are going to be a professional with a degree in Argentina, it is incomprehensible that they do not dominate the race well. In medicine, they must have excellent training. Doctors can not go wrong", thinks the rector.

To conclude, Martinez said that the pre-test for students who do not know the language of the country is taken in any university in the world. And he pointed out that it was a payment: "In Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia, in all the universities that cross the border, accusations are brought against him". In this sense, he felt that universities in the country should rethink a better way to manage the budget and available resources.