More Equity in Education: The Chilean Students' Public Outcry

Abstract

Last May, the Minister of Education celebrated the unprecedented rise in Chilean national education test scores: a substantial improvement in reading among 4th graders, particularly in students of the poorest schools. This improvement ratified Chile's progress in OECD's Program of International Student Assessment exams over the last decade, placing Chile above the rest of Latin America, particularly given improvements in the poorest student cohort (OECD, 2010). It finally seemed that 20 years of persistent education policy development--with such significant measures as a seven-fold public budget increase, a special school subsidy for vulnerable students and the extension of the school day for all--had produced the long-desired results. But this optimism was short-lived. A vigorous student movement that included university and secondary students shook the country over the summer, triggering widespread social activity. This movement opposes profit making among education providers, demands a quality education for all (with no exclusion or inequities), and presses for a more active state role in education. A quarter of Chile's university students (240,000) went on strike and/or physically took control of their education facilities. Some 300,000 secondary students significantly interrupted their studies and joined the protests. The movement developed creative ways of expressing its anti-education system message by employing massive and festive marches through city centers that have included suggestive choreographies (e.g., 3,000 students dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller in front of the Presidential Palace) and tensive use of social networks. The movement also enjoyed favorable public opinion, with than 70% of those surveyed indicating their support (UDP-Feedback, 2011). Driving this social unrest is the gap between what the society once expected an education to yield and what such an education is actually delivering today. Almost all students in this generation finish high school. This ignites the college dream, with aspirations to obtain a professional or technical title. A high school degree, once a challenging goal for their parents and an impossible dream for their grandparents, is now insufficient. Moreover, access to the next step is complicated: Acceptance to the most prestigious universities and/or receiving public scholarships requires high scores on the national test of access to higher education (PSU). Most teenagers from lower-income homes are unable to gain admission to a prestigious university or qualify for one of the publicly funded scholarships because their basic education has not prepared them well enough for the PSU test. Their options are to get a job or attend less prestigious universities and institutes, which don't receive public financial aid. The latter implies a very expensive private loan, resulting in students and families taking on significant debt. Indeed, a common chant on the streets during the protests was: Pago por estudiar, y estudio para pagar (I pay to study, and I study to pay). Two facts help explain this half-way progress: Seven out of 10 university students are the first generation to reach this education level; half of those will drop out without finishing their degree. Separate and unequal The public is also unhappy about the inequity and unfairness of education opportunities in Chile. In the current system, families can only access various schooling options depending on their income and payment capabilities. The rich elite (7%) go to exclusive and expensive private schools; the middle class (52%) attend private subsidized schools, adding some family co-payment to a public subsidy; and the lower groups (41%) participate in municipal public schools, free of charge. …