MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Chilean presidential debate first round favors under-dog Matthei
Evelyn Matthei of the right-wing Independent Democratic Union (UDI) and Michelle Bachelet of the left-leaning Socialist Party (PS) partook in their opening head-to-head presidential debate, as for the first campaign in Latin American history two women compete against each other in a presidential election second round. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesCat fight, eh!
Dec 09th, 2013 - 03:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Seems to be all hissing and spitting but no fur or blood flying.
Abought right for politicians of any country. They can talk the talk but they have no feet.
I am puzzled by Ms Matthei's statement that she doesn't support the state paying for the “children of the rich”. In my experience, regardless of where they live, wealthy people are always more likely to send their children to fee-paying schools. Did she mean tertiary education? In that context the statement makes some sense.
Dec 09th, 2013 - 03:40 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Free tertiary education is indeed most likely to favour those who can most easily pay for it, and would be very expensive, but free primary and secondary is a more than worthy aspiration and an excellent investment in the future. And given the size and intensity of the protests I can't see any way that this will not become official policy. But then I'm not privy to the subtleties of the Chilean political landscape.
(2) Heisenbergcontext
Dec 09th, 2013 - 05:27 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You say...:
Did she mean tertiary education?
I say...:
Yes she did....
Primary and secondary education (~12 years) are gratuite AND obligatory in Chile since 2003.... Tertiary education you pay for. (Dearly)
Primary and secondary education (~12 years) are gratuite AND obligatory in Argentina for ages... Tertiary education is gratuite and voluntary.
@ 3
Dec 09th, 2013 - 06:58 pm - Link - Report abuse 0What is gratuite? It is not English is it ?
University is not free in Australia and it hasn't harmed us. As long as there are mechanisms to allow everyone to aspire to it and a payment system that enables everyone to access it.
Dec 09th, 2013 - 07:37 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Free tertiary education does not always equate to quality nor mean that those that should have it do have it. Argentina's free tertiary system is over crowded and of low quality. So there has to be a happy balance.
While education in Germany is free, this is there result of centuries of an education system integrating it itself into society and the economy. Indeed anyone can study at German universities for free no matter their nationality. That doesn't mean that they just let anyone it, you still have to complete for a place; which keeps the quality much much higher than the Argentinean model.
Like its currency, all Argentina has done is devalue the worth of degrees by multiplying their occurrence.
I hope Chile implements some form of university access that doesn't rely on up front payments. Partial subsidisation with access to government support loans to pay off at some future date such as Australia with HECS and Fee-HELP would give a nice balance.
Either way, reforms will mean that Chile which is already in the fast lane and zooming past Argentina on so many measures will speed up further and overtake more.
@5Nice post. I agree
Dec 09th, 2013 - 09:05 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Thanks Redpoll
Dec 09th, 2013 - 10:56 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I'm very much a reformist. To not reform is to stagnate. Chile's economic and social model has gotten it this far and reforming it or changing it, is what is needed for it to take the next step to full developed country status.
Some of those reforms will work and some won't. Some will advance the economy and civil society and some won't. As long as the system lets these occur and evaluates and judges the results.
That is the biggest problem in Argetina. Not that it implements new policies but that it doesn't evaluate them to see if they are having the desired result.
The biggest fear in Chile should be Bachelet's desire for speedy constitutional reform. She may not wish to spend 2 or 3 years to discuss setting up a constitutional assembly, but it is better to spend that time if it means getting it right.
Chile's constitution works and this can be amply seen by the fact that power alternates amongst different political persuasions. Spending 2 or 3 years to establish something that will help design something that could be in operation for decades or longer is not that long.
Either way, I look forward to seeing the reform agenda over the next presidential term.
It will only differentiate Chile every more starkly from its next door neighbour.
@2 Heisenberg
Dec 09th, 2013 - 11:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Think has answered you correctly @3
On this point, in the first debate Matthei tore up a check for a large amount of money, saying Chile couldn't afford to spend so much educating those who were already privileged. It is a good and valid point.
I would like to see extensive use of state funded scholarships. They serve to motivate students at secondary level; create social mobility and a strategic tool to ensure we get the right balance of professionals in the economy.
@5 Anglotino
“I hope Chile implements some form of university access that doesn't rely on up front payments. Partial subsidisation with access to government support loans to pay off at some future date”
Me too.
I don't want anything too radical. We have been making steady progress in improving education which means we are doing something right. Although the universities of all Latam are poorly ranked, at least Chile's universities are over represented in the top-10 highest ranked on the continent - something that wasn't the case 10 years ago.
The recent PISA 2012 publication showed that at secondary level Chile is also ahead of all Latin America. There was very little in the press about this “success” and more coverage of the fact that we are at the bottom of the class when compared with our new OECD class mates. This is a very positive development.
These achievements were lost in the noise of the student protest that were more to do with the increased aspirations brought by economic growth than lament of educational standards.
@ Condorito
Dec 09th, 2013 - 11:46 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Hopefully Chile will look around and compare some systems. In Australia our system works pretty well. Those that attend university are to contribute. The logic is that they will end up with a higher salary and living standard.
How does this work? Well for all intents and purposes I didn't pay anything for my first year at uni. However I need to pay a partial fee for each subject that I have taken - this is not the full cost of the subject. This is called HECS (Higher Education Contribution Scheme). Languages have a lower HECS rate than my architectural subjects. Humanities are usually quite low. Engineering is higher. Medicine and vetinary is higher still. These bands take into account the higher earning capacities different subjects bring.
When I enrolled I also applied for Fee-HELP. This means the government pays my fees and I accrue a debt to the Federal Government. This debt is indexed each year so it does have a form of interest. Usually there is a discount if you pay up from and don't use Fee-HELP. There is also discounts if you pay off large chunks at a time.
Eventually though I end up with a debt that every year I report on my tax return. Should I get income tax refunded, then government may take it to reduce my debt. And when my earning capacity reaches a certain limit, then the government starts to deduct a small percentage of my salary to pay my debt off.
So can there still be free education? Yes. As long as I never earn above a certain amount then I will never pay it back. Though I guess the ATO (tax office) will take what is owed out of my estate when I die.
What I didn't cover was the scholarships that are also available. But the system works for us.
And it has produced a pretty good education system when compared to many others, including the free education next door to you in Argentina.
@3 Condorito & 8 Think
Dec 10th, 2013 - 04:20 am - Link - Report abuse 0Thank you both for enlightening me.
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