MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Chile’s Piñera tries to appease student protests: 4 billion USD for higher education
Hundreds of thousands of students have taken to the streets demanding higher standards and lower costs for education Chile's President Sebastián Piñera, beset by mass student protests over education standards and costs which are threatening his legislative agenda, proposed a 4 billion US dollars fund for higher education.
“We are proposing the creation of an education fund totalling 4 billion USD,” Piñera said in a televised national address, saying it would be funded in part from earnings from the country's top export, copper.
Defying police water canon and tear gas, hundreds of thousands of protesters led by students have marched in Chile's capital and main cities in recent weeks, piling fresh pressure on Piñera's centre-right government that is already grappling with protests against energy projects and a looming strike at state copper giant Codelco.
Analysts say the protests are diverting attention away from negotiations in Congress over legislation on the minimum wage to maternity leave, hampering their passage.
Student protests have plagued successive governments in a country where they must pay toward their state education.
Piñera's approval rating hit a new low of 36% in May, a survey by pollster Adimark GfK showed last month, punished for his government's approval of a controversial hydro electric project and despite the strong economic recovery from the ravages of last year's devastating earthquake.
A billionaire, Piñera has also been buffeted by a scandal over credit irregularities at retailer La Polar that have rocked the stock market.
Top Comments
Disclaimer & comment rules-
-
-
Read all commentsI thought everything was “ peachy” in Chile !!
Jul 06th, 2011 - 04:30 pm 0Um, no. lol. It is interesting seeing the peaceful protests around Santiago today.
Jul 06th, 2011 - 09:14 pm 0The students want free university education for all and better standards of teaching. They won't get it. In times when more countries are introducing tuition fees I cannot see Chile suddenly making their privately owned universities free for all. Private education is big business. However, the government could give more burseries for less weathy students. Or encourage the corporates to sponsor more students. Maybe.
I don't think it would be a good thing to make it totally free, due to the following reasons:
Jul 07th, 2011 - 03:05 pm 01. it would attract students from abroad, which would be a big monetary load for a relatively small state like Chile.
2. Motivation to for personal effort would diminish, a big broad of students, who don't really care for studies would enter, just because its for free. You can see this in Germany, its a big debate due to the costs the “changers” do represent. They stay in university for 12 years, changing the subject every now and then, because they have no real aim.
Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!