Education in Chile

Education in Chile is divided in preschool, primary school, secondary school, and technical or higher education (university).

Levels of education

The levels of education in Chile are:

• Pre-school: For children up to 5 years old.

• Primary school: (Enseñanza básica) for children aged 6–13 years old, divided into 8 grades.

• Secondary school: (Enseñanza media) for teenagers aged 14–17 years old, divided into 4 grades.

• Secondary school is also divided into:
  1. Scientific-humanities approach: From Tercero Medio (11th grade) in high school, students can choose a subject in either science (math, physics, chemistry, biology), or humanities (literature, history, philosophy), which means they will get more lessons in the area of their choice.
  2. Technical-Professional education: Students receive 'extra' education in the so-called 'technical' areas, such as electricity, mechanics, metal assembly, etc. This second type of education is more typical of public high-schools (Liceos), to give students from poorer areas a chance to enter the workforce after completion of high school, as a way to fund a possible higher education career later.^{[citation needed]}

• Higher education:
  • University (universidad): These are divided between "traditional" universities (public and private universities created (mostly) before the 1981 reform) and private institutions.
  • Professional Institute (Instituto Profesional, IP): Private institutions offering professional degrees, except for those given exclusively by universities. They were created in 1981.
  • Technical Schooling Center (Centro de Formación Técnica, CFT): Also created in 1981, they are private institutions offering technical degrees only.

Pre-school

See also: Ranked lists of Chilean regions#By net enrollment ratio in education and Ranked lists of Chilean regions#By gross enrollment ratio in education

A constitucional reform in 2007 guaranteed free access to pre-school, but did not make it mandatory.

The coverage for pre-school stands at 37.43% (for children aged 0 to 5) and 44.96% (for persons of any age).

Primary and secondary education

According to the Constitution, primary and secondary school are mandatory for all Chileans.

The Chilean state provides an extensive system of education vouchers that covers about 93% of primary and secondary students (the other 7% attend non-subsidized private schools). The system is based on a direct payment to the schools based on daily attendance.

Schools are either public (nearly all owned by the municipality of the commune in which the school is located) or private, which may receive government subsidies.

Primary

The 1965 reform established primary education as the initial cycle of schooling. Before that, by 1920, Chilean legislation had established four years of minimum mandatory education. By 1929 the minimum had been increased to six years. In 1965 primary education was extended to eight grades, ideally designed for ages six to 13.

Secondary

Secondary education is divided between Scientific-Humanist (regular), Technical-Professional (vocational) and Artistic, all lasting four years. The first two years are the same for the three kinds of schooling, while the third and fourth years are differentiated according to the orientation of the school.

The schools offering Technical-Professional programs are denominated:

• Industrial Schools: electricity, mechanics, electronics, informatics, among others.
• Commercial Schools: management, accountancy, secretary and similar.
• Technical Schools: fashion, culinary, nursery and the like.
• Polyvalent Schools: offering careers of more than one of those listed above.

Compulsory education only covered the eight years of the Basic Cycle, but in 2003, a constitutional reform established free and compulsory Secondary Education for all the inhabitants of Chile up to 18 years old. This ensured thirteen years of compulsory schooling, which was an unprecedented milestone in Latin America at the time.^{[citation needed]}

Coverage

See also: Ranked lists of Chilean regions#By net enrollment ratio in education and Ranked lists of Chilean regions#By gross enrollment ratio in education

The net enrollment ratio (covering students of school age) in 2009 was 93.19% in primary, and 70.70% in secondary, while the gross enrollment ratio (covering students of any age) was 106.24% in primary and 94.68% in secondary.

Costs

Chilean students presenting a PowerPoint about America, in Escuela Barreales, 2008.

Public schools and subsidized private schools with voluntary tuition may charge a fee for the admittance process, which is fixed by law. The fee's cost was CLP$3,500 in 2008 (less than US$7). The annual price of enrollment is zero for primary school and cannot be higher than CLP$3,500 for secondary school. A tuition fee may be charged only in secondary school, but it is completely voluntary for the parent.

Subsidized private schools with mandatory tuition have the same admittance and annual enrollment costs as in public schools, but they are allowed to charge a mandatory monthly tuition which cannot be higher than 4 USE (Education Subsidy Unit). This was equal to CLP$60,748.86 in 2008 (about US$116).

Non-subsidized private schools are free to set what they will charge, which may include, admittance, enrollment, tuition costs, as well as a fee for being selected into the school (paid once, and can be quite high in some exclusive schools) and a payment to the so-called Parents Center (Centro de Padres).

There is a third type of public school, the so-called Delegated Administration schools, which are owned by the State but managed and financed by private corporations. These cannot charge for admittance and the annual enrollment cost is the same as in public schools. They are allowed to charge for tuition, but this is wholly voluntary for the parent. The cost is 1.5 UTM (Monthly Tax Unit) annually, which was CLP$451,824 (less than US$865) in 2008.

There is a fourth type of public school, administered by the Ministry of Education and completely financed by the State. Currently, there is only one such school: Escuela Villa Las Estrellas in Antártica.

Tertiary education

Admission

University

Students can choose between 25 "traditional" universities (public or private) and over 50 private ones, which are increasingly growing in number. However many of the newer private universities are considered of inferior quality when comparing to the older traditional universities. The difference in quality is accompanied by large differences in prestige rankings, PSU scores for admittance and years of government accreditation, though these differences have been decreasing.

There is a single, transparent admission system to all the so-called "traditional" universities which integrate the Council of Rectors (Consejo de Rectores). The system, called PSU, an acronym for University Selection Test (Prueba de Selección Universitaria), is very similar to the United States' SAT Reasoning Test. The design and the evaluation of the test is performed by the University of Chile, while the system itself is managed by the Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación). In 2011, eight private, non-"traditional" universities joined the PSU admission system.

The test consists of two mandatory exams, one in Mathematics and one in Language. There are also two adittional specific exams, Sciences (including Chemistry, Physics and Biology fields) and History, depending on which undergraduate program the student wishes to apply to. The cumulative grade point average achieved during secondary school is also taken into account in the final admission score. Every university assigns different weightings to the results of the various exams for the various programs offered. Some universities may require additional (non-PSU) tests or personal interviews for admission to some programs.

In 2010, a total of 250,752 persons took both mandatory PSU tests.

IPs and CFTs

Professional Institutes (IP) and Technical Schooling Centers (CFT) require a secondary education license only for admission.

Coverage

See also: Ranked lists of Chilean regions#By net enrollment ratio in education and Ranked lists of Chilean regions#By gross enrollment ratio in education

The net enrollment ratio (covering students between 18 and 24 years) in 2009 was 28.88%, while the gross enrollment ratio (covering students of any age) was 38.73%.

Costs

All universities and technical schools in Chile charge enrollment and tuition costs. There are several scholarship programs and a "solidarity fund" loan program granted by the government to students of "traditional" universities, based on merit or need. There are also loans programs through private banks with the state acting as guarantee available for students of private, non-'traditional' universities and technical schools; they have been criticized for charging high interest rates. Most scholarships and loan programs offered by the government only cover a "reference" annual tuition cost calculated by the government for every study course. The gap between the reference and the real tuition cost can be substantial at some educational institutions.

School year

The school year is divided into semesters. The first semester runs from the end of February or early March to July. Following a two-week winter break school resumes and lasts until late November or early December, followed by summer vacations.

See also

• 2006 student protests in Chile
• Ministry of Education of Chile
• 2011 student protests in Chile

External links

• Ministry of Education
• EducarChile
• Chilean Universities and Higher School