Piñera to address Chilean students’ demands on Saturday in Government House

Thursday, September 1st 2011 - 01:55 UTC

Full article 3 comments

After much deliberation, Chilean Education Minister Felipe Bulnes agreed to meet with student leaders this Saturday, Sept. 3, to discuss their demands. The meeting is to take place in the La Moneda presidential palace, and will be hosted by President Sebastián Piñera himself. Read full article

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xbarilox
Poor president Piraña :(
Sep 01st, 2011 - 02:03 am - Link - Report abuse 0
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Forgetit87
Hahaha :)
Sep 01st, 2011 - 05:31 am - Link - Report abuse 0
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GeoffWard2
OK, the Government want to take the heat out of the protest incrementally; the ‘students’ want a new (social) system. It was ever thus, the whole world over.

(From this article), what, specifically, do the ‘students’ want to be different?
1. ‘Free education’ as a constitutional right.
There is no such thing as ‘free education’; the people pay; the tax-payers. Many more people will need to become tax-payers and pay higher taxes to meet this demand.
2. Improving access to education for low-income applicants; grants and scholarships.
Good in itself, but many more people will need to become tax-payers and pay higher taxes to meet this demand.
3. Greater recognition for the rights of indigenous students.
Good in itself, but are we talking about people with Chilean nationality, or the ‘native Chilean’ community? Do the two groups have different rights?
4. Ending municipal oversight of low-performing schools.
If not the municipal authorities, who should have oversight of performance? The State Ministry of Education? The ‘students’ themselves?
5. An end to ‘for-profit’ educational institutions.
‘Profiteering in schools’ = private schooling, includes religious schools/international schools/foreign & overseas colleges/etc. If corruption is the issue, end corruption; do not deny ‘private’ enterprise the right to educate certain of the nation’s children.
6. Stopping private banks financing tuition loans.
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with any bank being used as the Loan Company; all that is needed is good and honest oversight.

There is no ‘Crunch issue’ here;
all is soluble, except the right to be educated outside the state system.

But the nation will need to be educated through the media that this 'new world of education' comes at a significant cost,
and it is them, through more and heavier taxes, that will be bearing this cost.

They may choose to do so, and this could become the key ballot box issue.
Sep 04th, 2011 - 03:17 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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