President Bachelet: “We are going to make free education an effective right”
The President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, along with Education Minister Adriana Delpiano, welcomed over 60 students to the Patio de Los Naranjos at La Moneda Palace. Among the students were those who achieved the best score in the high school exams as well as those with the highest score for the university entrance exam (PSU) for the 2016 admission process. The President congratulated the students on their achievements and invited them to enjoy a breakfast. During her speech, the President highlighted the Government’s success in achieving the free tuition program for next year.
She continued, “for each one of the more than 250,000 students who took the PSU this year there is a personal and family story of effort and hard work; stories of perseverance and the determination to overcome barriers that always come up when one pursues important goals.”
Speaking about the reason for the invitation to La Moneda Palace, the President continued, “we are here today to congratulate you all -you and your parents- because your families are undoubtedly delighted with the news that you have achieved such good scores, and also, in some cases, that you will be able to study for free.”
“I believe that over the last two years we have achieved important goals, I would even say historic,” said President Bachelet. “This will allow us to advance in terms of quality and inclusion in elementary, secondary and higher education. It will allow us to eliminate barriers and economic discrimination from young people’s education.”
She added, “making these changes has not been easy. We encountered resistance and difficulties. But thankfully, with dialogue and collaboration, we can recognize today the importance of extending the right to education and progressing towards free, good-quality higher education for all our young people.”
In conclusion, President Bachelet stated, “thanks to the short law, we will be able to launch the free tuition program in 2016. This initiative will include 30 state-run and privately-owned universities and some 178,000 students will be able to study for free starting as of next year.”