During the presidency of Dr. Carlos Pellegrini, in 1892 his Minister of Public Instruction Dr. Juan Balestra took to the public discussion the words of Juan Bautista Alberdi in whose BASES he urged "to educate our youth in the industrial life for which they had to be well-educated in sciences and auxiliary arts of the industries".

Those words were written in the Memory corresponding to that year:

"... You shall form in the society an informed working-class who will be an example of the results of the technical instruction, and you will have made the most effective promotion between people about the necessity to take the children to the school. With the classical instruction you will present to the intellectual classes the way to extend its illustration; with the technical instruction the way to make useful the knowledge. In both ways you will prestige and make every time more necessary the primary instruction, which is the necessary antecedent of all others".

Such was the concept that had in those years, an informed Statesman concerning to the Technical and Industrial Education.

During 1896 it is inaugurated in the city of Rosario, province of Santa Fe, the School of Commerce of Rosario. At that time four were the existing institutes in the country dedicated to this special Education.

Until that year a way of education connected with the industry had not been implemented yet...

Antonio Bermejo was Minister of Justice, Cult and Public Instruction of President Dr. José E. Uriburu. On December 30th of that year he attends a session in the House of Representatives while the National budget for the next year is being analized. When he talks about the subject of special teaching, the Minister asks for the inclusion of money to complement the education that is offered in the National School of Commerce and to create an annex section:

An Industrial Department.

"Since the industrial movement in the Capital and the provinces is taking in general such development, it would be convenient to prepare the elements to educate the children who tomorrow will be the directors of factories or heads of industrial establishments ".

"Thus I would ask for an amount of money after the commerce school, that would say: for the organization of the industrial department, 25,000 pesos per year".

"I believe that it is advisable to complement this institution, giving those ones who want to prepare themselves for the industrial establishments the necessary competence that they would acquire in this establishment".

On February 6th of 1897 the Executive makes official the creation by means of the corresponding Decree:

Art. 1. - "An Industrial Annex Department to the National School of Commerce of the Capital is created where technical education will be imparted to the young people who wish to dedicate to the industrial careers".

The second article expresses that the education to be imparted will be theoretical and practical, exposing the plan that is developed in four years in the theoretical part that offers general, scientific and technical knowledge and; the practical part with industrial drawing and works in carpentry, fitting, boiling and foundry workshops.

Art. 3. - "To be admitted as student of the school it will be necessary:

1^o To be, at least, fourteen years old, verified with the certificate of baptism, or the certificate of two well-known people.

2^o To be in good health and good behavior, which will be verified with satisfactory certificates.

3^oTo be approved in entrance examination, that will be based on reading, writing, grammar, Arithmetic, history and geography, with the same extension given to these matters in the first year of the National Schools or the Schools of Commerce".

Art. 4. - "To those who satisfactorily finished the four years of Technical Education , the Ministry of Public Instruction will grant a Diploma de Competencia, qualifying them as factories' directors, industrial overseers, etc., according to the merit of the tests approved by the student".

Art. 5. - "Scholarships for the Industrial School are set, of the value of thirty pesos monthly each one, that will be distributed by the Ministry of Public Instruction between the more distinguished students".

Art. 6. - "The Direction of the National School of Commerce, is the one in charge to project the curriculum and general and internal regulations, according to which the education will be imparted in this Department, putting them under the approval of the Ministry of Public Instruction".

"This will be communicated to those whom corresponds, will be published and inserted in the National Regulation".

URIBURU
Antonio Bermejo

On March 15th of 1897 with the beginning of the classes in the Industrial Annex of the National School of Commerce the first year of Industrial Education began and when finalizing the present regular classes period it will have ended its hundredth year, closing therefore the first century of Technical Education in our Country.

(*): Abstracts from the book "OTTO KRAUSE, Small History of the Industrial School" (pages 20 to 23), written by Jose Amilcar Romanelli and published in Buenos Aires, year 1987.