Global IssuesEDUCATION-CHILE: Protests Demand Deeper Reforms of Unequal System
The problems plaguing Chile's education system are not unknown in the rest of Latin America, but are especially complex in this long, narrow country sandwiched between the Andes mountains and the Pacific ocean.
On Tuesday, students and strikers demanding a referendum on education reform set up roadblocks in Santiago, including the central Alameda avenue. Police clamped down harshly on the protests, with water cannon and tear gas.
The protests by students demanding educational reforms, a constant feature over the past three months, have the government of rightwing President Sebastián Piñera up against a wall and have surprised those who see Chile as a regional model of economic and political stability.
'It has to be understood that the problems in education criticised by the students, such as the segmentation of the system and concerns about quality, are problems not only in this country, but also throughout Latin America,' Daniela Trucco, an expert at the department of social development of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), told IPS.
What sets Chile apart from the rest of the region is not questions related to higher education, but the system for financing primary and secondary education.
'In most countries the education system is divided into public schools, which are free, and fee-paying private schools. In Chile, though, the system is split into three: the municipal schools run by local governments, that are publicly funded and free; state-subsidised private schools; and private schools that charge tuition,' Trucco said.
Within state-subsidised private education, students get free tuition at some establishments while at others, pupils' families pay a monthly fee, an arrangement known as 'shared financing.'
'It is by far the most complex financing system for education in the region,' said Trucco. The Organic Constitutional Law on Education (LOCE), enacted by the late former dictator Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) just one day before he stepped down, set off a process of decentralisation and privatisation of education that gave private schools free rein to pursue profit, and use entrance exams to select their students.
The government of socialist President Michelle Bachelet (2006-2010) embarked on education reforms to sweep away the deeply unpopular LOCE, in the wake of an unprecedented wave of student demonstrations in 2006. However, political pressures were brought to bear and the modified law passed by Congress in 2009 ultimately failed to dismantle the most unpalatable features of the education system.
The social protest movement is now calling for an end to the freedom of private schools receiving state subsidies to levy fees at will. Instead of the current system, under which administrators of these establishments rack up profits, the demonstrators want school fees to be invested in education.
Another demand is for public schools at primary and secondary levels to be directly managed by the Education Ministry, instead of by local governments. The LOCE law, which put public schools under the administration of municipal governments, accentuated the inequality in education quality between rich and poor districts.
Statistics on primary and secondary education access and coverage in Latin America indicate progress, said Trucco, but 'in general the problem in the region is the bottleneck for entering tertiary education.' In higher education, 'coverage is much lower,' even though public universities are generally tuition-free in Latin America, she said.
© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service