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Education in Chile
Chilean education is divided between preschool, primary school, high school, technical and higher education (university).
According to the constitution, Primary school and high school are mandatory for all Chileans. The Chilean state provides a free public system of primary and highschool education for those who cannot afford a private education.
Levels of Education
The levels of education in Chile are:
Pre-school: For children up to 5 years old, optional for 1 grade.
Primary school, or Ensenanza Basica, for children from 5-6 to 12-13 years old, divided in 8 grades.
High School, or Ensenanza Media for teenagers from 13-14 to 17-18 years old, divided in 4 grades.
High School is also divided in:
1) Scientific-humanities approach: From Tercero Medio (11th grade) in highschool, students can choose a major in either science , or humanities , 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 schools (Liceos), to give students from poorer areas a chance to work right away after completion of Highschool, as a way to fund a possible higher education career later.
University, a system divided in public or 'state' universities and a private system2
Mandatory right to education
Until recently, only primary school education was mandatory for Chileans. In may 7, 2003, former president Ricardo Lagos, issued a law making high-school education also mandatory, giving the state responsibility for its completion for all Chileans under 18 years old.
Also, there is a law to guarantee full coverage of care and education to children from age 2 to 5 by the end of the current government of Michelle Bachelet.
The twelve years of mandatory, free education, make Chile a special case within Latin America.
The coverage of basic and highschool education runs high: 99.7% of children aged between 5-13 go to primary school, and 87.7% of teenagers between 13-17 study in high school.
Admission to University
Students can choose between 25 state universities or private ones, which are increasingly growing in number. For admission to state universities, students must do a University Selection Test, called PSU, which consists of two mandatory 'basic subjects' test (math and literature), plus other specific exams , depending on what the student wishes to study.
According to media and official statistics, in 2006 a total 241,390 students did the PSU.
The admission fee to do the PSU can be quite costly for students belonging to the poorer areas of society , due to which a current demand from students is that the state can subsidise the admission fee for poorer students.
See also
2006 student protests in Chile
External links
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Education in Chile
