PROYECTO DE LEY QUE ESTABLECE LA EDUCACION EN SU NIVEL INICIAL, PRIMARIO, SECUNDARIO Y ESPECIAL, COMO SERVICIO PUBLICO ESENCIAL.

Señora Presidente: El presente proyecto de ley tiene por objeto establecer la educación en todos los niveles, incluyendo el nivel inicial, primario y secundario, así como también la educación especial, como servicio público esencial en reconocimiento de su vital significancia en la vida de todas las personas y ante la situación en la que se encuentra en la actualidad en nuestro país. "2024 - YEAR OF THE DEFENSE OF LIFE, FREEDOM, AND PROPERTY" The Republic of Argentina is facing an educational emergency and requires the activation of measures and public policies that guarantee the effective and efficient provision of public educational services immediately. The quality of education has been undermined and deteriorated rapidly over the years, and going through a pandemic without the national priority being to get boys and girls back to the classrooms as soon as possible has contributed significantly to this deterioration. During 2020, 4 out of 10 young people had little or no contact with their teachers: they did not receive assignments or only received them once a week without feedback. In the first semester of 2021, there were weeks when 9 out of 10 students did not attend classes. 1 To illustrate the state in which our country finds itself, it is enough to mention how many provinces have been able to reach the 180 mandatory days established by National Law 25,864 for the minimum annual school year for early childhood, primary, and secondary education institutions in the year 2023. According to a report by the Coalition for Education, the provinces that have added the highest number of full and partial days of classes are: Mendoza with 191; followed by Formosa with 185; the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, and Santiago del Estero with 184. On the other hand, among the provinces that have not reached the minimum number, Tierra del Fuego has only held 120 full and partial days during the school year, followed by Santa 1. 1 https://www.cippec.org/proyecto/el-impacto-de-la-pandemia-en-la-educacion-secundaria/#:~:text=Durante%20el%202020%2C%204%20de,no%20asist%C3%ADan%20a%20las%20aulas. "2024 - YEAR OF THE DEFENSE OF LIFE, FREEDOM, AND PROPERTY" Cruz with 127, Neuquén with 157. They are followed by Río Negro with 163 full and partial days, La Rioja with 166, and Chubut with 169. If partial days of classes are not counted, that is, days when teachers leave early due to union protests, the numbers would be even lower. On the other hand, the results of the Aprender Test, 2023 edition, show that, for example, in the subject of mathematics, there was a "slight deterioration" compared to 2021, which is around 3 percentage points, according to the report. State schools have higher percentages of students in the lowest performance group, reaching 26.3% (basic) and 28.7% (below basic), while in private schools, it was 18.2% and 12.3% respectively. This showed that the performance deterioration between 2021 and 2023 was 3.8 percentage points in state schools and 2.2 in private schools in this subject. As CIPPEC considers, the results of low and poor academic performance in primary and secondary levels contribute to school dropout, taking into account the socio-economic factors of the country, where young people drop out to be able to work and contribute to the family income. "School dropout is the result of a process, rather than a decision in response to a particular event, in which multiple factors intervene. Research indicates that one of the most important factors that anticipate this phenomenon is academic performance. The scenario of students with lower levels of learning," "2024 - YEAR OF THE DEFENSE OF LIFE, FREEDOM, AND PROPERTY" particularly in more vulnerable groups, will be conducive to higher levels of school dropout."2 No one can argue that workers can exercise their constitutional right and take measures to have their own rights recognized; but in front of them are the girls, boys, and adolescents who can no longer attend school. And our positive law is very clear in the face of this conflict of constitutional rights. Article 3 of the Law on Comprehensive Protection of the Rights of Girls, Boys, and Adolescents, No. 26,061, establishes what should be understood by the "Best Interest of the Child and Adolescent" and, in its final paragraph, states "When there is a conflict between the rights and interests of girls, boys, and adolescents and other equally legitimate rights and interests, the former shall prevail.". Based on all the above and in order to protect the right to learn of girls, boys, and adolescents, I ask my colleagues to support me in the approval of this bill. Guadalupe Tagliaferri 2 https://www.cippec.org/proyecto/el-impacto-de-la-pandemia-en-la-educacion- secundaria/#:~:text=Durante%20el%202020%2C%204%20de,no%20asist%C3%ADan%20a%20las%20aulas.