[News] Education in the north of Chile: the dance of those who are left over

[FNX Magokiler]

Unfortunately, the song El baile de los que sobran is still valid, where its vocalist Jorge González intoned in one of its verses: “To others they really gave that thing called education (…) join the dance of those who are left over, no one is leaving us to miss, no one really wanted to help us.” Thirty-eight years later, the album Pateando piedra could perfectly be the anthem of the crisis in public education in Chile. The latest milestone is the teachers' strike in the Atacama Region, which lasted more than two months.

In this case, following the money route is crucial, due to the embezzlement of funds by the Local Public Education Service (SLEP) of Atacama and which has already been verified by the Ministry of Education. The consequences are scandalous: almost unusable bathrooms; mouse feces in the rooms; 16 technical-professional high schools that only teach theoretical classes, because they do not have the inputs to do practical tasks; 4×4 classrooms for 30 children belonging to 1st grade. In the 21st century, these students must learn crowded together and at health risk.

And where is the money? With the implementation of the New Public Education, Local Education Services were created, which left the municipalities behind as responsible for the education of more than a million students. The sources of financing come from the Public Sector Budget Law and the transfer of municipal programs, regional governments and subsidies.

 

 

What seemed like a masterful solution has resulted in a drain on money that ranges from heavy hiring to administrative problems.

However, the consequences have no value: students who must take the PAES test will not be on equal terms with others who attended all their classes. The youngest children will continue to suffer from shortcomings carried over from the pandemic and the difference will be perpetuated between those who can afford a quality education.

What happens in Atacama is a mirror that is extrapolated to many classrooms in the territory. The quality of education in Chile and its great gap transform children into first and second category ones. It cannot be that the future is already truncated because money always rules.

Access to education is not in doubt, but while some study in painted classrooms and equipped libraries, with first-class sports infrastructure, others must deal with flooded bathrooms, lack of materials, and the sun and cold turned into enemies, when They sneak through the windows.

Many young people know that the future is none of those promised in the twelve games.

 

https://www.elmostrador.cl/noticias/opinion/2023/11/13/la-educacion-en-el-norte-de-chile-el-baile-de-los-que-sobran/