In dialogue with Channel EProfessor of Art History and Specialist in Monuments and Tourist Heritage, Juan Antonio Lazaraanalyzed the “Education Freedom Act” project and defined its scope as long-term structural change.
Lazara He welcomed the government’s proposed law on freedom of education and claimed that Argentina’s education system has been in need of reform for decades. According to him, after 27 years as head of the student leader, he knows: “each of the institutions of our great white elephant”. For this reason, he assured that he was moved by the official initiative: “It moved me because it is moving, it is truly revolutionary“.
Changes in the higher education system and the central role of the family
Lazara He emphasized that the project covers all levels of education and introduces changes with great impact. One of the points he considered most important is that each university can set its own entrance exam, limiting mandatory systems like the CBC. He claimed that this “will affect thousands of people” and will enable institutions to raise their standards.
Another axis that he described as transformative is the centrality that the law gives to the family nucleus. As he explained, the family would become the natural agent of education, while the state would play a subordinate role. In this context he defended openness to alternative modalities: “A family can choose how to educate their child: homeschooling, virtual schooling, or traditional in-person schoolingHe even pointed out that parent associations could hire or fire directors of educational institutions, which he described as “Transfer of power to civil society“.
In valuation matters Lazara He highlighted Article 72, which provides for the national secondary school examination. Although voluntary, he believed that there should be binding, equal and national standards. “A school educates and evaluates its own student; He is judge and party“He explained: For the future there must be external evaluations, such as independent educational audits, that ensure uniform quality.
He also criticized the fact that there are currently measurements whose results are not allowed to be published. He emphasized that the new law requires these reviews to be uploaded to the website so that families can view the institutional performance. At the university level, he recalled that Coneau would be strengthened, which would become mandatory and force public and private universities to accept external examinations. “The UBA resisted an external audit“, he exemplified and defended that accountability in the use of public resources is essential.
Finally, he highlighted other aspects of the law: preservation of native languages, 720 compulsory hours, mandatory external assessments and acceptance of homeschooling. He even recalled a case he experienced with an American father whose home-schooled children excelled. “This father would have gone to prison here“, he summarized, marking the contrast to the current regulations.
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