Education in Chile
This article deals with education in Chile.
Primary school and high school are mandatory for all Chileans, according to the Constitution. A free public system of education is provided by the State to assist those who cannot afford a private education.
The levels of education in Chile are:
- Pre-school education, which is not mandatory and mostly privately funded.
- Primary School, or Enseñanza Básica, from children from 6 to 12 years old, divided in 8 grades. Private or public schools.
- Secondary School, or Enseñanza Media from 13 to 17 years old, divided in 4 grades and, additionally, divided in Science-Humanities approach and a Technical one, intended to deliver some working special abilities. Run both privately and publicly through the Liceos.
- Superior Education, which is divided in two systems: a traditional one which selects students through a University Selection Test, or PSU; and a "private system" with admission requirements unique to each establishment.
Chile has a decentralized public education system run by local governments (municipalidades or comunas). Critics of the system say that local governments cannot adequately oversee and fund schools in their districts. They say that poor comunas deliver education to poor students, usually with low standards and high number of beneficiaries, while rich districts are well-funded and manage little number of students since many parents choose the private education system.
Chile has approved a law (under the government of Michelle Bachelet) that guarantees education to all Chileans at the Elementary level (1st to 8th grade) and Secondary level (junior and senior high school). Also, there is a program that will guarantee full coverage of care and education to all children from age 2 to 5 by the end of the current government.
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Education in Chile