There is a rare consensus among stakeholders in Latin America that education is a key element in the social and economic transformation of the region. Education reform is now at the top of the political agenda in virtually every country in the hemisphere.
Education is the key to job creation and to the formation of a democratic civic culture.
As democracies in the region continue to consolidate, reform of the system of higher education has taken on particular significance. During the transition to democracy in Argentina, Balan said, the Alfonsin government was driven by high expectations and political pressures to deliver important symbols of educational democracy, such as open admissions, tuition-free education, and university autonomy. According to Balan, these policies led to a sudden jump in enrollment and a tremendous expansion of the higher education system, ultimately diluting the quality of university education, marked by long completion rates and a high number of drop-outs. The problem, Balan said, is that higher education policies have been driven by political and social demands. The unregulated expansion of public and private universities in Mexico during the 1970s collided with fiscal crisis in the 1980s, giving rise to demand for a drastic modification of the country's higher education system.