An audit conducted by the Secretariat of Innovation, Science, and Technology identified that 672 universities and scientific organizations owe reports for more than $33 billion. The investigation was formalized through Resolution No. 10/2025, published in the Official Gazette, and is part of the national government's strategy to review and reorganize the use of public funds allocated to the scientific sector.
Among the entities with the largest outstanding amounts are prestigious national universities and provincial organizations. The survey is part of the public spending rationalization policy promoted since President Javier Milei's inauguration.
Universities among the main debtors
According to official documentation, the institutions with the largest amounts unaccounted for are:
National Technological University (UTN): $902,715,606
University of Buenos Aires (UBA): $896,272,705
Arturo Jauretche National University: $683,308,996
Also listed are: La Plata, Hurlingham, UNSAM, and the Scientific Research Commission of the Province of Buenos Aires, all with amounts exceeding $430 million.
The government granted a non-extendable deadline until June 30, 2025, to regularize the reports or return the unexecuted funds, including interest caused by potential financial placements.
El Gobierno exige devolución de fondos científicos no rendidos por 670 universidades
Restructuring and program cuts
In addition to demanding the reporting or return of funds, the resolution determines:
The termination of expired agreements from the Federal Program to Build Science and COFECyT
The elimination of the institutional subsidies program for private entities
The end of the Extraordinary Subsidies Program, with a projected saving of $491 million
Among the eliminated projects are initiatives linked to social leaders and cooperatives:
Civil Association Amanecer de los Cartoneros: $6,400,000
Evita Federation of Worker Cooperatives: $7,750,121
Civil Association Néstor Vive Varela: $10,000,000
Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo: $39,955,000 for museographic design
The call for projects for the Popular Economy was also suspended, which included travel, per diems, and equipment for cooperative production units, with a cut of $1.2 billion.
New stage of control and financing
El Gobierno exige devolución de fondos científicos no rendidos por 670 universidades
From the Cabinet Office, Secretary Darío Leandro Genua was instructed to evaluate all ongoing programs, identifying lack of execution, expired deadlines, and amounts unreported. According to the resolution, once the regularization period expires, administrative or judicial recovery actions will begin.
The measure aims to consolidate a new scientific financing model, focused on budgetary efficiency and legal control of spending. According to official sources, it is not a scientific merit evaluation, but a accounting order that eliminates deviations from the public purpose.
