Chile and Brazil lead the Global Innovation index in the region
An international study released this week ranked Chile first among Latin American countries on the Global Innovation Index (GII), though Chile received mediocre scores in the area of education.
The study, released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an international business school, and INSEAD, a research institution, ranked Chile 39th overall, one spot below its ranking last year.
“Chile shows strengths across the board, with the notable exception of human capital and research,’” the report read. “This result is in line with the crisis of tertiary education in the country that was highlighted in 2011.”
The study considered a wide range of factors and drew data from areas including business, education, politics, trade and ecological sustainability. The data was then translated into a number out of 100.
Chile received a 42.7, which is 15 points below the global leader, Switzerland, and 6 points above the next Latin American country, Brazil. In the region, Chile swept almost all of the sub-categories and showed particular strength in “creative outputs.”
However, the study showed that Chile still lags in education. Overall, it ranked 83rd in education, behind other Latin American countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela. Primary and secondary education was noted as being particularly substandard, and the country ranked 103 out of the 141 countries in terms of its pupil-teacher ratio.
These findings are perhaps not surprising. After the widespread student protests last year over the inadequacies and inequalities of the school system, education has become a lightning rod for discontent. Protests flared up again last month over profiteering in schools and the price of education.
Globally, seven of the top 10 ranked countries were European, with Switzerland, Sweden, Finland and the United Kingdom occupying four of the top five spots. The United States came in at number 10 and scored highly for its universities, research institutions and “world class” firms.
Some of the Latam scores have Colombia with 35.3, position 65 and 4 regionally; Uruguay, 35.1, with positions, 67 and 5; Argentina, 34.4, and positions 70 and 6; Mexico, 76; Paraguay, 84 and 11; Venezuela, 118 and 39.
By Andrew Chow - The Santiago Times
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If you apply deduction, you have to come to the conclusion, that tertiary education of all things must bail it out. Primary and secondary education in Chile ranks very bad, much worse than the general ranking of education of the country. This also concides to the latest 2012 QS University rankings of Latin America, which show Chile as the nation with the highest density of TOP ranked universities in the region. Considering the students complaints, this looks somehow irionic.
Since in the rest of the world the “drop-out” rate from college is done even before they attend (they just never get in), in Argentina the drop-out occurs within the 1st year of college. Which makes the graduation rate look atrocious in comparison when it is merely a statistical mismeaurement.
And, yes may be the schools and unis in Chile are privates and why a private business can´t be profited if it have made its work OK ??? Worst is when a school or uni is state owned and make its work bad...specially when the money is wasted reciving students which haven´t the capabilities to get in and it´s known that will be fired at his first year...?? Some kind of selection must be used to choose the students that can became professionals...The other way is just populism...may be you can offer them guaranted professional tittles for all the students because the equaly rules you seems to be supporting....Quantity isn´t synonymous of quality, don´t you know..?? Hurt it...????
What does Chile innovate?
Primarily technology related to mining processes.
On Unis: I think French unis are open door, but not sure about that.
University rankings are based on quality of published research and quality of graduates, not on drop-out rates. If Argentine universities are ranked poorly, it is because they score lowly in these areas.
Guzz,
People are not “dumb” because they cannot access good education.
That's not very fair... it's like comparing grapes meticulously culled by hand in vineyard A vs machinery tumble pile of all grapes in vineyard B, to determine which vineyard has better quality. A bit flawed then.
Or at least, just state that in Chile and Brazil the access to such graduation rates is far lower than Argentina, but generally better formed than the argentine graduates in their TOTAL (not the top talent which surely is just as good but gets diluted in the more average mass)>
The open door system accounts for lots of students entering, but as you stated in post 4, they are rapidly culled in the first years. So the number of graduates as a % of population must be broadly the same as in other countries. High numbers of graduates wouldn’t affect quality of published research, which is the other influential factor in the uni rankings.
I am sure the uni rankings are far from perfect (and certainly Anglo biased), but there must be something in them, if Chilean and Brazilian universities are the highest ranked in the region and the same two countries lead the innovation index (a completely separate international study).
We need more trade schools, like Europe.
Too bad Michelle can't go another round or three.
She can and she may well be back.
Ah...!!! Better if you research about the graduates number in Chile.....may be you'll have a big surprise.....
errr...mate, totally wrong direction. Research a bit... Chile with about 1 million has a way higher ratio of tertiary students than Argentina has, related to it's own population.
Don't .... Don't believe the hype!
There are 3 times as many students in Argentina compared to Chile, their population is much bigger but they graduate only 2.5 students per 1,000 population compared to 4 per 1,000 population in Chile. This is 60% more graduates.
In Chile for every 100 university entrants 66 graduate, in Argentina this drops to a dismal 26 per 100 entrants. Universidad de Salta only managed 3 graduates per 100 entrants.
Per every 1000 lawyers that graduate in Argentina only 37 engineers graduate. In Chile it's 207 engineers per 1000 lawyers graduated.
This last stat blew me away.. Look: In Argentina 12% of the poorest attend University. In Chile this figure is 17%. Argentine tertiary education is not more inclusive. This really shines a spotlight on those loving families in Chile who are doing it very very tough to send their kids to university often raking up mortgage size debt in order to give their kids a better start in life. Why has the FREE Argentinian sys failed the country and the students? Why aren't they churning out huge numbers of graduates? why aren't they the brain factory of Latin America?
I'd like to know.
Source www.lanacion.com.ar/1409228-quien-paga-la-universidad
Good post. Interesting stats. I think Chilean families might even spend the most on education (as % of income) in the OECD.
Why do free systems fail?
You get what you pay for.
The crisis in tertiary education in Chile revolves around funding/profit not quality. Of course quality has to be improved and will be.
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