The crisis caused by the lack of quality places in the school system in some communes of the country – which comes just after an 80-day strike at the SLEP of Atacama – has brought back the discussion about the pernicious effects of the Law of School Inclusion, pillar of the reforms bacheletistas. The idea of a counter Reformation from some sectors, which until now is only a general manifestation of rejection of the Government. The latter, for its part, organizes flags of support, just as vague and irrelevant.
It is necessary to review the Inclusion Law. This and other regulations established absurd limitations on the dynamism of the subsidized private sector, eliminated the academic selection that allowed the existence of high-performance public schools, replaced private spending with public spending by prohibiting co-payment, closing the possibility for parents to invest in the education of their children. They set conditions that were insurmountable for the creation of new subsidized schools.
But that is not the topic of this column.
The point is that this discussion is exactly the same one we have had since 2014. The then student leaders, now authorities, were allowed to take control of the educational debate without question. And their ideas seem exhausted, because in the face of criticism there is no coherent response, despite the fact that they now have the initiative that being a Government gives them. The best example comes from a former Minister of Education who called the Inclusion Law a “civilizing minimum”: that seems to be the only argument available to him when there is no evidence of the positive effect of the reforms. The opposition, unfortunately, also clings to this agenda, and without proposing its own path, persists in talking about counter-reform. Good slogan, but the content is not observed. Beyond rejecting the logic of Bachelet’s reforms (which I agree with), what other idea is there behind it? Are we condemned to talk about the same thing forever?
The opposition, due to its current position as a challenger, must come out and propose something different. In the case of education, a Copernican action corresponds: the star around which educational policy revolves must be changed. This is not profit, co-payment and selection, or the form of state administration, as we have been led to believe. It is learning. There is a three-axis idea:
Let educate. The State seems so obsessed with controlling education that it does not let it happen. Schools suffer from a lack of autonomy combined with a significant bureaucratic burden that prevents public and private directors from leading pedagogically. These must have clear powers to sanction and expel students who violate the law and the educational project. The directors of the state system should be allowed to choose their teams and dismiss poorly evaluated teachers, as well as better remunerate those who teach better.
Help educate. If the establishments comply with the operating conditions required by the State (official recognition), the Government’s efforts must be aimed at evaluating whether the learning is achieved, which has at least two aspects. First, learning occurs in a context where personal security and confidence to make mistakes prevail, and where people can establish bonds around a common purpose. Second, learning needs an educational community with a sense of mission, project or identity, high expectations, clear goals, and constant evaluation and capable and empowered teachers. To do this we need directors with a clear sense of authority, not an official telling them what to do. Violence must be banished.
The system is only one. We must break with the atavistic logic of the ruling party that illustrated the famous phrase of the roller skates: The way to improve public education is not to affect, limit or disfavor subsidized private education. Both forms of education deserve the best efforts of the authorities to carry out their mission of educating. State action, with the corresponding differences, must seek to improve the financial, administrative and educational conditions of all schools, since the children are the same.
Things are missing, of course. But at least let’s start talking about what’s important.
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