The principal challenge that ACIJ has faced in its education budget work has been access to information.  When it first started its work, Department of Education refused to provide the requested information.  The organization took the matter to court on a couple of occasions, and the court each time ordered the Department to turn over the requested information.  However, the courts in Argentina are weak, and the government often fails to obey court orders.  The Department, nonetheless, has responded better to information requests from ACIJ following the litigation.   

Now the principal problem ACIJ faces is that the data the Department compiles is insufficiently detailed and complete.  For example, schools that are the recipients of infrastructure spending are named for only 50% of the funds spent; the recipients of the remaining funds are not designated.  It has thus been impossible to determine where all the funding goes.  As a result, ACIJ has had to limit its analysis to distribution of infrastructure funds to the 50% that is designated.  In this situation, litigation will not help greatly, as the law is vague on what information the government is obliged to develop and release.  In response ACIJ has presented a draft law to the local legislature proposing mechanisms whereby the government could generate precise information on matters of concern in the education sphere. ACIJ also makes up for some gaps in the government data by doing surveys itself.

ACIJ has been successful in making the City’s education budget visible.  Prior to 2006 neither legislators nor the public knew what the education budget was being spent on or where it was being spent.  Although many politicians were concerned about social spending, because of the lack of readily accessible information in the budget, it was very difficult for them to understand where the funding was going.  Now ACIJ takes the executive’s budget when it is released and analyzes it by geography (by neighborhoods in the City) and spending area.  It also tracks spending over time, to determine whether the government is working to progressively realize its obligations.  It presents comments on its findings to the legislature and members of the executive branch.  It also uses the media to good effect.  Prior to ACIJ’s work, few people were aware of or talking about the human rights impact of education spending, particularly the rich vs. poor break?down in that spending.  Some of these issues are now the subject of public debate.  Crowding in schools has, however, not yet eased.

November 2009