MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile and Brazil lead the Global Innovation index in the region

Chile scored poorly in education confirming the widespread student protests

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