[ARCHIVO] President Bachelet: “Public education should be a source of pride. That’s why we must strengthen and take care of it”

The President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, today officially re-opened the América school in the Combarbalá district of the Coquimbó region in northern Chile.

The President said “today we are re-opening this historical school, which is more than 60 years old. We are doing so following a complete renovation so it now has facilities that meet the highest standards and are not only beautiful, as we’ve all been able to see, but also functional and safe. So the boys and girls from this area will be able to study, learn, grow and also have fun in the best conditions”.

The works entailed investment of 10 billion pesos and are part of a special land management program for areas that are lagging behind (Programa Especial de Gestión Territorial de Zonas Rezagadas). The project involved relocating and completely repositioning the school.

The President highlighted, “we believe that public schools have a special mission and are a space like no other with regard to integration and valuing differences, freedom, equality and contact with a democratic experience”.

Work started on the new school in December 2014. It has a capacity for up to 965 students – 120 preschool and 845 elementary school students. The school covers a surface area of 4,400 m2 and has classrooms, computer rooms and multi-purpose rooms, a library, language laboratory, physics and chemistry lab, an art and music room, restaurant, restrooms and other facilities.

The President said “we are convinced that all of our schools throughout Chile, in the cities and in rural areas, have the duty to provide an excellent education and set an example in terms of quality for our entire education system”. She added “public education should be a source of pride. That’s why we must strengthen and take care of it”

In closing, she said “this beautiful school is part of something bigger, something the Government, families, teachers and the entire education community are all building together, thinking of the future of Chile: a quality education system that is more inclusive, shared and cooperative and that generates opportunities for everyone”.