VZCZCXYZ0007
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMN #0046/01 0131809
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131809Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5251
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE

,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 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶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. 
 
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UNIVERSITY MONOPOLY 
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¶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. 
 
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STRIKES 
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¶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. 
 
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PUBLIC SPENDING AND BUDGET IN THE UR 
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¶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. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶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