URUGUAY'S PUBLIC UNIVERSITY SYSTEM IN CRISIS

,UNCLAS MONTEVIDEO 000046

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EB, WHA/BSC

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958N/A
TAGS: PGOV SOCI EINV ELAB UY
SUBJECT: URUGUAY'S PUBLIC UNIVERSITY SYSTEM IN CRISIS


--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (U) Minister of the Economy, Daniel Astori recently
stated that Uruguay must decentralize and strengthen
its system of higher education or risk a faltering
economy. Post analysis concurs with Astori's
assessment. Statistics show that the vast majority of
university-age students will never achieve a degree.
Most students in the single public university, La
Universidad de la Republica (UR),abandon or delay
their studies due to overcrowding, strikes, and an
overly-bureaucratic system. The high drop-out and
delay rates cost the UR a significant percentage of its
annual budget, which has consistently decreased since
the early nineties. In its present form, the public
university system in Uruguay does not effectively
develop the nation's human capital. End Summary.

--------------
UNIVERSITY MONOPOLY
--------------


2. (U) The University of the Republic (UR) is the only
public university in Uruguay. The vast majority of
students opt for the public university over a private
one (88% in 2004),as the UR offers free and open
enrollment, in addition to a more diverse range of
programs. Private universities were not officially
recognized until 1995.


3. (U) Those who graduate from the university are
generally of excellent caliber, but most UR students
never graduate. A 2004 study found that only 24% of
the students who began studies completed the UR and
that drop-out rates were most pronounced in the areas
of study with less certainty in the job market.
Consequently, careers like law, medicine, and
engineering have disproportionately high representation
in the university.


4. (U) The university's open, free, and unlimited
enrollment policy is at the root of the drop-out and
underachievement problem. There are no restrictions on
the number of classes a student must pass or on how
many he may repeat. In theory, a student retains his
university status for life.


5. (U) Overcrowding not only stems from an unlimited
enrollment policy, but also from the fact that
attending a university has evolved from an educational
goal into a social responsibility. This idea is now
deeply ingrained in the Uruguayan social fabric and
many students enter the system without a particular
goal in mind.


6. (U) The financial cost of drop-outs and delays in
the UR is high. Between 2000 and 2003 the average cost
of non-attendance of enrolled students in the public
university was over $5.5 million, about 11 percent of
UR's total budget.

--------------
STRIKES
--------------


7. (U) On December 9, 2005, the Federal Union of
University of the Republic employees (AFFUR),held a
strike because of a dispute with the government over
the 2006 budget. The strike occurred in the middle of
final exams, and although it was resolved within two
weeks, the exams were rescheduled for February. Strikes
occur periodically in the UR and cause delays and
frustration among public university students and
employees. Strikes do not occur at the private
universities.

--------------
PUBLIC SPENDING AND BUDGET IN THE UR
--------------


8. (U) Despite the UR's dominant educational role, the
university does not receive adequate funding. The
Uruguayan government allocates only 2/3 of the Latin
American average for higher education spending. While
spending on public education has increased recently,
the budget for the UR has hovered at around only 2% of
the national budget. Spending per student recently
fell to its lowest level in the last two decades. A
decrease in public spending has also weighed heavily on
university employees. The average salary of a
university employee has steadily decreased in real
terms over the past 15 years, even during periods of
national economic growth.


9. (U) Ironically, in order to compensate for the
decrease in funding after the economic crisis, the
public university began to tax its professors and
graduate students. In 2002, the UR increased the tax
and allocated a large chunk of this money to its own
annual budget. The tax provides UR with 6% of its
budget.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


10. (SBU) Low fertility and a high immigration rates
among young Uruguayans underscore the essential need
for academic achievement among those that do choose to
stay in the country, attend the university, and serve
as productive members of society. As the major
provider of higher education, the public university
must efficiently produce human capital if the country
has any hope of competing in a global market or
supporting a rapidly aging population that clings to a
socialist economic structure. The overall economic
situation cannot be improved without the support of a
generation adequately equipped with professional and
academic skills comparable to the rest of the world.
Minister Astori's statement is essential to the future
health of Uruguay's economy, but we will see if Uruguay
has the will to follow his advice.

NEALON