Pati & Peter: Chile's student fight for free quality higher education

Pati and Peter joined la Familia in La Serena one weekend for some serious drinking on the Saturday night (a happy surprise that this night I also finally met David Concha, the original connection to the house) and a revisit to Valle Elqui on the Sunday.  Jóse drove us to a point higher up than Diaguitas, a spot called las Posas, where we cooked sausage and corn-on-the-cob on a charcoal-based fire and bathed in the cool of the river.

 Pati is in her final year of phonology and audiology and is doing a thesis researching the language development of children with cleft palates.   She and Peter, who works mostly from his bed apparently (!) in business, were both hugely informative about the educational and welfare system in Chile.

Pati , whose work means she specializes in the support of children with speech and hearing difficulties, spoke about how Chilean inclusion policies support children with learning and physical disabilities through primary and secondary education, but then seems to fail them miserably at university and job entry level.  Pati gave the examples of a child with a physical tic in the arm that made writing very slow and challenging who was not allowed a teaching assistant or extra time in a university entry-level exam; and a young adult with Asperger’s who had completed all the stages of his degree except the practical placement and whose uni would not find him a placement, not recognize the placement he found and completed through family.  Clearly a case of discrimination, which Pati and Peter say is common at uni level and an issue that needs addressing in Chile.

Peter, Pati, Mauro, David and all the students that I’ve met so far were involved in the 2011 student boycotts that lasted for 4 to 5 months in all universities throughout Chile.  Largely supported by parents and lectures, the motivation of the student boycott was to demand free higher education of high quality, which the students see as having been commoditized into a saleable product.  Most Chilean courses are a minimum of 5 years long, with some succh as medicine even longer, and their high fees make Chile’s one of the most expensive education systems in the world.

The 2011 boycotts ended with students’ returning to classes with the pressure of the exam period and fear of losing the entire year after paying such high fees and the pledge by President Sebastian Pinera’s to channel 4 billion dollars into creating more grants and cheaper student loans.  Unsatisfied with the results, there is huge energy in the student movement again this year with plans for further boycotts aiming to achieve their goal of free higher education.  The goal certainly seems possible when you consider that neighboring Argentina has a completely free university system, including grants for living costs available to students from lower income families.  I hope that the Chilean students achieve their goals this year, they certainly have an impressive energy and focus on fighting for social rights, see this report about a youngster who has become famous in recent months for his fierce criticism of the Chilean educational system.

Coming after days hearing a lot about the environmental issues of La Serena and northern Chile, I had the urge to create an image about protecting nature, so used body paints to camouflage my feet into the river bank... a peculiar and enjoyable experience!

We are connected to Nature - take care of her!

:-)