UBA vs UT

There is a conflict inside me if public or private education is better. Although I went to a private kindergarten, primary and secondary schools, I discovered the public system when I started the university at University of Buenos Aires. I do recognize that going to a private secondary school prepared me well for the university. However, there are really good public primary and secondary schools in Argentina.

When I refer to education in Argentina’s universities, I will talk from my experience as student at UBA, although there are many other public and private universities in the country. Being aware of that, I do not want to degrade the other universities that are excellent as well or to hurt any UT student’s feelings with this humble comparison.

When I started the university, the system was really different than what I was used to. There was nobody reminding me anything and being aware of my performance. If I wanted to learn, then I had to focus and make efforts on my own. It was a huge transition to get used not to pay any monthly fees. My parents did not have to make an effort to pay my school, they only gave me money for books, school supplies and other materials, which was insignificant compared to the fees they were used to pay.

Quality of education in the University of Buenos Aires is excellent, although most of the professors work in poor conditions and teach for free for years until they first get paid. I guess that many of them do so because of the prestige it means to teach at UBA.

There are many structural flaws in UBA buildings, old furniture and bad lighting. You do not have soap or toilet paper (you should thank if you have water!). I guess that is what you should expect in a public system in which corruption dominates and structural investments are not being made. But most students ignore that because they are getting free university education which is scarce in most of the countries. My parents, who studied at UBA, told me this was not like back to their student days.

In both UT and UBA there a lot of foreign students. While in UT most came from Asia and Middle East countries and are from wealthy families, in Argentina they came from adjacent countries such as Colombia (mainly), Bolivia and Peru, from lower and middle classes who seek in Argentina their chance to get a free college degree, since in their countries they do not have public universities. There is also internal migration to Buenos Aires and other major cities from other provinces or towns that lack universities or their quality is not as good as the ones there. Argentina lacks the federalism that US has, in which each state is more or less independent from the federal government.

When I started attending classes at the University of Texas I compared it with my university. I guess that paying really expensive fees in the US allows universities to spend a lot more money in infrastructure, equipment and other materials than in Argentina. Most of the classrooms I have been in have media equipment such as projectors, screens and computers. All the professor make use of this instruments and use PowerPoint presentations and slides. I wonder what they would do if there are power blackouts or Internet failures (which are very common in Argentina). There is so much dependence in technology.

The main difference between UT and UBA is the use of technology in classrooms. Most of the professors in Argentina use the blackboard and chalk. In some rare occasions they use projectors to show some slides. Also, all the students take notes in notebooks, NOBODY uses the computer in class. We do not have any system such as Canvas where teachers upload files and notes. Each professor uses the system they feel comfortable with (Google Drive, Yahoo Groups, Mail Lists), which causes many difficulties each semester when classes start and we need to learn how to use a different system. It is annoying for both teachers and students.

Class at UT with projector

Class at UT with projector

Class at UBA with blackboard

Class at UBA with blackboard

In Argentina is very common to study until late hours in night shifts. There are classes that last until 11 pm, whereas in UT, from but I have heard, classes last until 8 pm. The reason I believe it is like this is because in Argentina, students are used to work while they study, and many do so in full-time jobs, so the only time they get to attend classes is in the evening-night. Here in UT, students usually work in part-time jobs and full-time jobs are unthinkable.

Also, there is a difference I mentioned in my previous post that UT has all the buildings in a campus opposed to the UBA that has its buildings spread all over the city. There is hardly no relation and cooperation between faculties, each one has their own rules and system. If you study Economics at UBA, you will attend all your classes in the Economics building. You will never have to attend a class in the Natural Sciences building, as it happens at UT.

Having to pay for education leaves a big part of the population without access to it. You will go to college only if you have enough money for it, opposed to the public system in which all the population have access to it as it occurs in Argentina. Because of that, you do not cross into many social groups at UT, they are all middle and upper classes that can afford that huge expense. In Argentina you see people from all different social contexts that make huge efforts and sacrifices not working as much as they should in order to invest in their own education.

Although I grew up in a middle class family and I always had what I needed, once you try the public system, you cannot think of going back to the private system. That is why I will choose UBA all my life, no matter how many equipment and supplies private universities have.