Law 1420/84 and the Question of Free Education: The Case of Paid Tuition

Abstract

In this article we will analyze the issue of free tuition provided for in Law 1420/84 and the imposition of paid tuition contemplated in the seventh paragraph of article 44 of the law. In the first section we will review the arguments that justified the introduction of paid tuition in national schools. Next, we will observe the proportion that occurred between children with paid and free tuition and the voices that were raised against it. In the third section we will describe the expenses that were made in the schools of the Capital and the National Territories with the tuition fund. Finally, we will discuss the process by which the seventh paragraph of Law 1420 was definitively eliminated. To carry out this research, we mainly analyzed the annual reports prepared by the authorities of the National Council of Education and the Council's magazine called El Monitor de la educación común.