Impacts of School Closures on the Right to Education in Argentina

Abstract

The Covid19 pandemic has had an impact on schooling around the world. This paper analyzes some of the effects that school closure policies have had on the right to education in the Argentine context. For this purpose, the results of the evaluations, that the national government itself has applied after the period of school closure, are considered. In terms of method, the design of this research includes qualitative techniques and quantitative techniques. Firstly, education is defined as a human right in order to understand the implications of school closures. Secondly, the characteristics of the institutional organization of the Argentine school system are described in terms of its normative. This has an impact on what the different subnational administrations can decide in terms of the provision of educational services. Then, the policies carried out by national and provincial authorities -in the years 2020 and 2021- and the conflicts generated between the different levels of the federal State are analyzed. Finally, the results obtained in educational quality assessments are studied, and the focus is placed on three provincial states to compare academic performance after school closure. Overall performance indicates a decline compared to those obtained in the pre-pandemic years. All of which evidences a negative impact on the exercise of the right to education due to the policies implemented. This has an impact on the further development of human beings.