SANTIAGO — Once again, Chilean students have taken to the streets to protest the…
Chile’s Students Back on the Streets
SANTIAGO — Once again, Chilean students have taken to the streets to protest the current state of the education system in Chile. While the Chilean government has made a number of concessions since the student protests began in June 2011, the changes have failed to impress. As FECh president Gabriel Boric announced, “The students don’t [...]
Student March Set For Wednesday, May 16
SANTIAGO — Wednesday at 11 a.m., university and secondary school students are due to gather in Plaza Italia as part of their ongoing demands of Sebastián Piñera’s government for free, quality state-education. The planned route from Plaza Italia is to march down the Alameda until Mac Iver, from which protestors will head northwards until Avenida [...]
The Majority of New Teachers in Chile Don’t Make the Grade
SANTIAGO — Approximately 69 percent of Chile’s recently graduated teachers have insufficient knowledge on the subjects they wish to teach, and 42 percent cannot teach properly, according to the Education Ministry’s Inicia 2011 test whose results were released yesterday. The test, now in its 4th year, evaluates recently graduated teachers from 25 institutions, testing their knowledge of [...]
President Piñera Commits to Ending the Lack of Digital Knowledge
SANTIAGO – During President Sebastián Piñera’s visit to Rancagua last Friday, he handed out new computers to students of the Moisés Mussa School as part of the “One PC for Every Tenth Student” program. President Piñera also participated in the inauguration of computer laboratory at the school. He concentrated his speech on the importance of reducing [...]
President Piñera Hands out First Voucher for School Achievement
SANTIAGO — President Sebastián Piñera and the Minister for Social Development, Joaquín Lavín, met with the mother of Brígida and Dorca Tapia, Miss Mará Angélica Ramírez. Ramírez, from the municipality of San Bernardo, is the first person to receive a financial reward from the government voucher for school achievement. This voucher is part of the [...]
Minister Larroulet Defends Tax Reforms
SANTIAGO — Cristián Larroulet, Ministry General Secretary of the Presidency, said about the Chilean government’s new tax reforms, “They seek to relieve people’s worries and reward saving, effort, and entrepreneurship. Also, it puts money into education because that is the most important thing for a free and fair society.” Yesterday morning, the Secretary of State was [...]
Chilean Universities Receive Top Rankings in “Iberaoamérica” Investigation
SANTIAGO – According to the SCImago Ranking of worldwide universities and research institutions, considered one of the most reliable ratings organizations in this subject, Universidad de Chile, Universidad Católica, and Universidad de Concepción have all been listed in the top 100 among the rankings for “Iberoamérican” institutions. These refer to schools and universities throughout Latin [...]
Proposal to Increase Art Education in 2013
SANTIAGO – Chile wants to improve the skills of its students in the areas of Arts and Music beginning in 2013. This week, the Ministry of Education presented a proposal to increase the number of hours dedicated to these disciplines in basic and middle school education in the country. This would be the first change [...]
Schools That Ignore Bullying May be Fined
SANTIAGO – The Ministry of Education will create a new law that may fine schools that do not deal with cases of bullying, after allegations of bullying rose 21% in 2011 from 2010. Bullying is wrong. When people are bullied they feel weak, insecure, frightened and alienated. There is no justification or need. There will [...]
Education Minister Suggests Reducing the Length of University Programs
SANTIAGO- Harald Beyer, the Minister of Education, has proposed an initiative that would reduce the number of years it takes to gain a degree in Chile. He has called for a report from the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities to examine why the undergraduate programs take so long to complete. In Chile, on average, [...]