Under the dictator Pinochet, Chile became devoted to the free-market theories of libertarian economist Milton Friedman. It adopted a voucher system and embrace choice.
Over the years, the schools experienced growing social segregation and little or no improvement.
A vigorous and outraged student movement in Chile demanded changes.
Just today, a news story appeared saying that Chile intends to end public subsidies for private schools. (Oddly enough, the story is from Shanghai!)
We will keep watch on this breaking story.
The story says:
Chilean Education Minister Nicolas Eyzaguirre Thursday reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ending private education.”The pursuit of profit is not a good objective for educational institutions. It is not a good ally of a good education,” Eyzaguirre told a press conference.
The administration of President Michelle Bachelet, who took office in March, has proposed an ambitious overhaul of the education system to provide affordable, quality education, as demanded by a national student movement launched in 2011.
The government’s proposed reforms basically call for greater public spending on education, free primary education, and an end to state-subsidies of private schools and to profit-oriented universities.
“The state needs to withdraw from many productive activities, but not those that are considered a social right,” said Eyzaguirre.
The current educational system, which was increasingly privatized by the previous pro-business administration, creates more tension between the nation’s privileged and working classes, the minister said.
State support for universities will have to be phased in slowly, the minister indicated, as many of the centers of higher education have not been certified.
“We can’t be throwing around public money without ensuring quality,” he said.
To finance the education reform, Bachelet has proposed increasing the corporate tax rate from 20 percent to 25 percent, an initiative opposed by the business and conservative political sector, but expected to be adopted by the country’s legislature.
Wow. Wonder what Paul Vallas has to say about this.
Another failed Vallas “intervention”??
Let’s remember the american OECD members: USA and Canada(founding members 1960), Chile(2010), Mexico(1994) and Brazil as a key partner and let’s review similarities about education policies to understand where are we going on the long run and what do all of these countries will have to give up on teacher’ matters.
OMG! This is soooo wonderful! It sounds like it took the election of a new president for Chile to finally come to its senses. I hope it does not take as long for people in this country to wake up as it did there.
Actually Cosmic, it took her returning to office. Michelle Bachelet was the president from 2006-2010 as well. It took electing another interim president for Chile to realize what they had going. By the time the states realizes this… perish the thought.
A quick check online. Apparently this has been brewing in the public eye for a few weeks now.
From The Santiago Times, March 26, 2014:
[start quote]
The government announced Tuesday that it will take the first step in its signature and far-reaching education overhaul with a package of reform bills to Congress before May 21.
The announcement comes amid a fierce back and forth over the pace of change which has already revealed ideological division both within Congress and the ruling coalition itself, a fortnight into the new administration of President Michelle Bachelet.
In a televised interview with TVN, Education Minister Nicolás Eyzaguirre announced several bills he said would bring an end to three sacred cows of traditional policy: profit-making in education, government co-payment for private institutions and the ability of these institutes to select their students.
[end quote]
Link: http://santiagotimes.cl/government-lays-groundwork-education-overhaul/
I urge viewers of this blog to read the rest of the article. Let’s keep an eye on this…
😎
Good for Chile! In the meantime, our country seems to be following an example set by Haiti–keep the “common” people ignorant (less or no or poorly equipped “public” schools; control of the press & media–all news written/broadcast in French and not Creole, the language of the country people; 90-95% illiteracy) and, thus, poor.
Speaking of Paul Vallas, interesting that he was in Haiti (w/Duncan, as well). Trying to restructure the school system there to make things better for the children?
No, methinks it was carpetbagging, pure & simple–the “smell” of fresh (earthquake relief) money!
So the experiment failed. Hope it doesn’t take as long in the U.S. to revert back to supporting public schools and eliminate using public funds to support private operators of our schools.
It’s not clear the experiment failed, but it is clear the left wanted more control in the schools, the better to indoctrinate you, don’cha know.
Spoken like a true Tea Party, right indoctrinating elite private school teacher.
It’s no surprise that a profit loving Libertarian like you would see no problem with discounting the concerns of tens of thousands of common Chilean students who took to the streets many times over the past few years to protest 40 years of education privatization established under the Pinochet dictatorship. Their democracy was restored 20 years ago, but the common good continued to be neglected, resulting in a highly stratified society. This is the same path our government has followed. Thank goodness their government is FINALLY listening to the people instead of the profiteers. Ours should get a clue, too:
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/agencia-efe/130905/chilean-students-demand-end-pinochet-education-model
Wow, Harlan, for such a man of letters, you really are outright unsophisticated and naive.
Do you know anyone from Chile?
Do you speak Spanish?
Have you read both Chilean media coverage of this as well as American coverage? Do you just disregard the stratification in the public pension system in Chile as well as what has gone on in public schools there? The Chilean people are trying hard to overcome centuries of European invasion ripples that have destabilized their society and fostered non-democratic ways of setting up and enforcing the society. Public trusts were destroyed by a dictatorship there and aided and abetted by our own CIA.
Harlan, please use the toilet paper in the right place this time by wiping that mouth of yours, because the cesspool therein does not make a good name for the Tea Party and Libertarians . . . . .
Mouthwash will not work this time . . .
Everyone should read or watch the movie/book The Shock Doctrine, which provides numerous examples of using “manufactured crisis” to dismantle democracy.foundational to understanding our times.
Shock Doctrine is indeed an excellent book to read. And yes, it is about dismantling democracy.
Read this article: “Oligarchy, not democracy: Americans have ‘near-zero’ input on policy – report:
http://rt.com/usa/us-democracy-oligarchy-policy-512/
Dear friends from the US. This piece of news is – somewhat -correct. The government is initiating a strong but gradual reform process, from preschool to school and university level. One of it´s first legislations will be the (gradual) end of funding of for-profit schools, the (gradual) ending of the segrgationist scheme of cost sharing from parents in publicly funded schools, and no less important, the prohibition of skimming through any considerations. However, it will NOT stop funding private (a.k. charter) schools, given that they constitute today close to 55% of enrollment. Some of you (me included) will be glad to know that the schizophrenic system of 6 nationwide standardized tests (with consequences) will be radically pruned during 2014. There is a lot more coming, I will keep you posted
Greetings from Chile
Mario Waissbluth
President
Educación 2020 Foundation
“.,.it will NOT stop funding private (a.k. charter) schools, given that they constitute today close to 55% of enrollment”
Sadly, that puts a huge damper on this matter. It sounds like the focus will be just on for-profit schools.
We have a number of states where for-profit charters are not permitted but that has not prevented non-educator executives from personally profiting off of them. If charter schools in Chile are anything like they are in our country, as noted Western Michigan University charter researcher (and former supporter of charter schools) Gary Miron stated, “There’s not much difference in profit and nonprofits.” He concluded, “It’s really a scam,” https://dianeravitch.net/2014/04/15/rocketship-charters-have-a-bumpy-ride-in-nashville-follow-the-money/
Dear Cosmic Tinker.
We are fully aware that non-profit charters have many spurious practices as well. But you have to be aware that a) 55% of students are enrolled in for profit and non profit charters (far far more than in the US), b) after 30 years of systematic demolition policies, our public education system has virtually gone down the drain, seriously mismanaged (far far worse than in the US). A whole program for the rebirth of public schooling is being designed, it will take a few years to materialize, and for the time being this is the only practical solution. You do not revert 30 years of the most commercialized school system in the world by the stroke of one law, without breaking havoc on the system (beggining with the 55% of parents which have their kids in charters). Today, our key policy is to combat skimming, teaching to the test, and segregation, which are the worst in the world. If you wish, we are trying to go “the dutch way” and we honestly do not see any other solution. If you have a better one, we will be happy to hear about it.
Thank you for the clarification, Mario.
That makes a lot of sense. By “the dutch way,” do you mean that your country is intending to follow the Netherlands’ model of education?
Yes. Neherlands. I am now writing a full column, describing this mess, and I will be sending it to Diane as soon as possibel
PS: If you read, in this same blog, the link to my previous column about Chile, you will verify that we had those changes planned previous to the presidential election: https://dianeravitch.net/2013/08/14/chile-the-most-pro-market-school-system-in-the-world-part-3/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/10/us-sweden-schools-insight-idUSBRE9B905620131210
Good piece on Sweden’s experiment with privatizing education:
“In a country with the fastest growing economic inequality of any OECD nation, basic aspects of the deregulated school market are now being re-considered, raising questions over private sector involvement in other areas like health.
Two-decades into its free-market experiment, about a quarter of once staunchly Socialist Sweden’s secondary school students now attend publically-funded but privately run schools, almost twice the global average.
Nearly half of those study at schools fully or partly owned by private equity firms.
Ahead of elections next year, politicians of all stripes are questioning the role of such firms, accused of putting profits first with practices like letting students decide when they have learned enough and keeping no record of their grades.
The opposition Green Party – like the Moderates long-time supporters of privately run schools but now backing the clamp-down – issued a public apology in a Swedish daily last month headlined “Forgive us, our policy led our schools astray”.
I give the Greens huge credit for that.
Can you IMAGINE a US political party writing “forgive us, our policy led our schools astray”? 🙂
Never, ever happen.
In 20 years when there are no public schools left we’ll get “mistakes were made”- by some unidentified person or group of people. 🙂
Is there an example of a nation that privatized their schools where that improved education?
So far we have two losers, Sweden and Chile. Is there a winner in this game? If not, why are we doing it?
Does this privatization idea ever become discredited, or does it just roll on forever? The UK looked at Sweden’s failure and said “let’s do that!” What the hell? Is it peer pressure or something?
It’s profit over people. Politics and ideology over people. Same story, different continents. We never learn.
So what middle and upper-class people did in Chile under privatization was start adding their own money to the state voucher, which is why inequitable funding for schools didn’t disappear (as promised) but instead accelerated. What Chile really did was shift the cost of education from the public to middle class parents, which of course leaves poor people in the lurch because they can’t make up the difference. They weren’t spending less on education, they simply shifted costs to individuals:
“The third result was that the increase in pupil achievement predicted by voucher proponents appears to have never occurred.”
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/special_reports/voucher_report/v_sosintl.shtml
Imprecise, as usual. It is not that private education will stop receiving funding, but rather that profit with public funding will be banned, as it should.
Thanks, Fernanda. It is difficult to be precise when there is so little information available. In a few hours, I will post comments by Professor Mario Waissbluth of Chile clarifying the changes in Chile.
Good. Thanks for the reply, Diane.
Milton Friedman in his book Free to Choose set out the pan to first offer vouchers then continually reduce them. Then people could purchase a “Luxury Product”by supplementing their voucher. This would clearly establish a class based system ultimately resulting in little education being offered to children in poverty. Make no mistake, these folks intend the outcome of their decisions. They count on the rest of us believing that they really couldn’t possibly intend what is gradually happening. They hope we don’t act until it is too late to change it.
I am confused to the desired educational goal: Should we ensure that citizens have no choice? No vouchers, no charters, no private schools, no home school. Should all children be mandated to attend a single system that is controlled by a few elite? Well, not exactly, the children of the 1% will always have choice.
Mandating taxpayers support only one system that is successful in some areas and not in others that they are relegated to by zip code and have absolutely no say over the curriculum is tyranny. It has been tyranny for some time It is only recently that educators are beginning to feel the pinch. Parents felt it a long time ago.
Educators do not need to raise our children. As scores in certain zip codes reveal they apparently have their hands full teaching them to read and write.
Janine,
None of the world’s. best education systems have vouchers or charters. You have many choices. You can send your children o religious school, you can home school, you can seek out other choices. But the government should pay only for public services, not private choices. You may prefer a private security service to the local police, but don’t expect taxpayers to pay for what you wish. If you want better public schools, get involved and make them better.
Most American citizens do not realize that their schools are being privatized. When they do, this fraud will end here as well.
But we, as teachers and other who work in schools, are not allowed to tell parents what is happening to their schools. At least, that’s what I’ve been told by union lawyers. And therein lies the problem–how does the word get out to the parents? Surely not the media or government officials, many of whom have a financial stake in the privatization. Surely not the “education” unions, who have been bought and paid for by Bill Gates, et al.
So, what happens now?
I don’t know why your union lawyers said that. The Chicago Teachers’ Union has been very vocal in standing up against closing and privatizing schools. When the teachers went on strike, they carried all kinds of signs, many of which were hand made, with slogans that said “Schools for People, Not for Profit,” “Children Are Not For Sale” etc. Maybe talk to your union reps about free speech issues.
Not allowed to do what’s right? I say do it anyway.
I taught for thirty years and nothing ever stopped me from expressing my opinion to anyone who would listen and many who wouldn’t.
For that reason, I ended up on a black list of teachers to be fired but instead, I helped–along with other teachers who refused to be muzzled—to get that principal fired, who was just following orders from the district office.
The teachers won but the district office never gave up muzzling the teachers who spoke out.
Not strange that the news came out of Shanghai. China and Chili have had close relations starting in December 1970. This relationship is based on pragmatism and non-interference. In fact, Chili supported China’s entrance into the WTO. In addition, Chinese have been buying property in Chili for years with the purpose of growing food for export to China. Trade between Chili and China grew 22% since 2005 as China became Chili’s biggest trading partner. Chili also has a growing East Asian population from China and also Japan.
Much the same as Peru, however the U.S. still manages tighter relations in Peru. This news makes me wish I were in Chile with TaT. Anyone up for running TaT- Chile?
The corporate oligopolies foster privatization of public institutions both nationally and internationally. They use there paid for pimps in most of the news media as well as paid for politicians to help clutch public money in there eternal and greedy quest to maximize profits. Public education, prisons and the post office are just a few of their targets. If they can’t gain power with paid off politicians, they do it there police force-the military- as the Nixon administration did in Chile when he and Kissinger installed the dictator Augusto Pinochet who murdered President Allende and thousands of his supporters. And that is when the Privatization of Chiles public institutions began. while he is still alive former Secretary of State Kissinger should be tried for his role in this sad and criminal affair.
I think Chile has now come in its senses as the election gives new president to Chile. This is amazing. All the best.