MR. EDITOR:
With immediate discussion and almost no debate, the Chamber is preparing to vote on the most profound change to the New Public Education since its creation. It has been presented as an adjustment of deadlines, but it redefines the system. It allows some municipalities to continue administering schools until 2035 (renewing that exception year by year), lowers the quality requirements to access it, and postpones until 2030 the creation of the pending local services (SLEP).
Although Congress approved at the beginning of the year a reform to law 21.040, today, without evaluation or real dialogue with the communities, nearly a decade of uncertainty is being installed in a policy with documented progress. No new SLEP will be able to plan seriously if each year it does not know which schools will correspond to it.
Municipalities that were supposed to transfer their schools within weeks could withdraw at the last minute and dismantle teams, budgets, and agreements already prepared. If the new services have difficulties getting established, or if municipalities with no signs of sustainability deteriorate the education of their students, no one will be able to say they did not know. It will be the political responsibility of those who pushed this change, starting with the government.
Public education needs stability and clear rules, and a reform of this magnitude deserved something more than a rushed, last-minute process. The Chamber can still correct this, and the minimum is that the exception not apply to the transfers of 20…
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TO THE EDITOR:
With immediate discussion and almost no debate, the Chamber is preparing to vote on the most profound change to the New Public Education since its creation. It has been presented as an adjustment of deadlines, but it redefines the system. It allows some municipalities to continue administering schools until 2035 (renewing that exception year after year), lowers the quality requirements to access it, and postpones until 2030 the creation of the pending Local Public Education Services (SLEP). Although Congress approved a reform to Law 21.040 at the beginning of the year, today, without evaluation or real dialogue with the communities, nearly a decade of uncertainty is being installed in a policy with documented progress. No new SLEP will be able to plan seriously if each year it does not know which schools will correspond to it. Municipalities that were supposed to transfer their schools in a matter of weeks could withdraw at the last minute and dismantle teams, budgets, and agreements already prepared. If the new services have difficulties getting established, or if municipalities with no signs of sustainability deteriorate the education of their students, no one will be able to say they did not know. It will be the political responsibility of those who pushed this change, starting with the government. Public education needs stability and clear rules, and a reform of this magnitude deserved something more than a rushed, last-minute process. The Chamber can still correct this, and the minimum is that the exception not apply to the 2027 transfers.
Gonzalo Muñoz S.
Professor, Universidad Diego Portales
More about: Schools, Municipalities, SLEP, Sustainability