In public elementary schools, the number of students has decreased and the number of teachers has increased

Between 2003 and 2017, the primary public school lost 236,099 students, while 46,624 teachers were added, according to a private study conducted during this period. In this way, the national average is that of a teaching position for twelve students.

The data come from the report of the Center for Studies in Education in Argentina (CEA) of the University of Belgrano, established from official statistics. According to the work of the period of investigation, the number of students decreased by 6%, while the number of teachers increased by 19%.

With this panorama, Argentina is among the countries in the lower number of students per teacher in public primary schools, with 12 pupils per teacher. In countries such as Australia, Japan, the Netherlands and Korea, this figure increases to 17; in Russia, the United Kingdom and France, 20; Brazil and Chile 21; Colombia 24 and Mexico 27.

Catamarca, with an increase of 44% (and a 27% drop in students), and Salta, with a 59% increase in the number of teachers (and an increase of eight students), are among the provinces where the number of teachers increased the most. .

In the districts of the interior where they increased the number of students are Santa Cruz, with an increase of 41%; Mendoza, with 7%; Tierra del Fuego, with 4%; Chubut, with 3%; and Rio Negro, with 1%.

"Argentina is currently recording a relationship between students and teaching positions significantly lower to the vast majority of Latin American countries. Something similar happens when the comparison is made with industrialized countries with a higher level of education than ours, "said Alieto Guadagni, Director of CEA.

"This indicates that the purely quantitative increase in teaching staff it's not enough to improve the education system, because it is also essential to strengthen the academic and professional training of new teachers who join their posts year after year, "he said.

The report also determined that the salaries of Argentine teachers are among "the lowest in the world". The document takes as a parameter the annual salaries of 10-year-old primary school teachers published by the OECD and compares them in terms of "PPP dollars", a measure of international comparisons that determines purchasing power. The result of this comparison indicates that the salaries of the country's teachers remain above the Slovak Republic and lower than the rest of the countries compared, including Mexico and Chile, in the region.

"Countries that have rapidly improved the quality of their education have done so by improving the preparation of new teachers, with a hierarchy of academic careers and, as the experience of Ecuador shows, of Finland and South Korea, pointing out that the best students Today's teachers are the teachers of tomorrow, as this also badumes that the teaching profession is fully recognized with better salary levels. This is the big task we have before us, "said Guadagni.