On the one hand, an extraordinary achievement. Amina Helmi, Argentine astrophysicist born in Bahía Blanca, graduated from the National University of La Plata (UNLP), has just been awarded the 2026 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics, granted by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, for her discovery of fossil evidence of ancient galactic mergers, fundamental for understanding how our galaxy formed and evolved. On the other hand, Argentina’s performance in the latest PISA education tests “has deteriorated across mathematics, reading and science.” What a bleak future! High-school students struggle with reading comprehension, they lack vocabulary and also fall behind in basic math skills. To make matters worse, secondary dropout rates are pretty high, sometimes due to economic hardships or lack of family support. Unfortunately, politicians don’t seem to care. Their selfish goals are short-term ones. They should be reminded of the Greek proverb: “A society grows great when old men plant trees in the shade of which they shall never sit.” Sigh…
Buenos Aires Times, September 12, 2026