Although the school management was transferred from the National Government to the City of Buenos Aires nearly two decades ago, it is not yet known for certain how many temporary teachers, substitutes and availability are in the database of the Buenos Aires Ministry of Education. 

According to the Auditor General of the City (AGCBA, for its acronym in Spanish), the computer record personal portfolio "contains inaccurate information" and, following the detected "inconsistencies", "not able to carry out procedures" in a planned control report that ultimately was approved this year on data collected in 2008. 

Facing limitations, technicians decided to visit 20 City schools (10 primary and 10 secondary) to relieve the payroll of temporary teachers, substitutes and availability. Among the information obtained and records of the Ministry, it raised "significant differences" depending on which source is consulted. For example, the ministry, in the primaries there is a 23.5% interim while AGCBA accounted for 17.6%. On the side of substitutes, the Ministry aims 54.9% and auditors completed in 40.2%. Something similar occurs, although to a lesser extent, secondary schools and not just teaching positions, but also in the lecture hours (see table).

Why are there such differences? Officials Teacher Education Ministry HR told the Audit that "this situation arose with transfers from the National Government to the City (1992 to 1994), in which the payroll of teachers was not determined in detail name, title, but in general."

Officials also added that teachers transferred must fill out affidavits, which contained their respective positions, and this information was entered into the system which became operational in the Ministry in 1995. The problem was that the temporary teachers and substituted were admitted to that system "with a fictitious designation box number and at the same time, began to arrive (appointments) that were loading the Proper System, resulting in many cases a double burden of the same designation", says the report by the AGCBA.

The Watchdog also suggests other factors that influence the obsolescence of the database of the Buenos Aires Ministry of Education. This is the time that passes from the date on which the teacher assumes a position until the legislative measure designates is sanctioned; what is known as a resolution in the case of interim and provision for alternates (see box).

In addition to recognizing that these delays, which in the case of alternate secondary schools exceed 300 days, "it leads to a downgrade of the relevant records," the AGCBA also notes that the worse scenario for substitutes, because they receive their pay "once the resolution was referred to the undersecretary of Human Resources Management of the Ministry of Finance."

The report states that in 2008 the amount allocated to faculty expenses were $823.3 million to primary schools and $335.2 for secondary schools, although "the amount for temps and substitutes are not in the budget, since the program's goals are quantified in students served."

On the other hand, the "lack of an adequate system of information" in the Department of Teaching Comptroller was also observed. The area, which depends on human resource as teachers from the Ministry, is responsible for overseeing all the processing on the circuit availability. 

The “docenes” in activity are those who see their class deleted by any change in the curriculum or in the establishment in which they serve, and in the meantime continue to receive their salary. There is a Buenos Aires area that is responsible for proposing new destinations for these teachers during inactivity: it is the Coordination Meeting of Classification, which every 30 days should track those who are in this situation and make the necessary steps to relocate.

The AGCBA Coordination met with officials of some joints, and noted that "the time lapse since the teacher is informed and is set to pass to availability, until the issuance of the Ministerial Resolution that formally declares them available has an average wait time of three months.”

In addition, the Watchdog noted that they are missing a computerized system that allows adequate control of the situation of each agent available.

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