A brief description of the Chilean education system

Chile invests 7.5% of its gross domestic product in education, a considerable amount  which surpasses some developed countries like Finland or the United States, to name a few.

Chile’s education system is decentralized; administration for each establishment is executed by persons or municipal and private institutions known as sustainers, who are responsible for managing the educational establishment on behalf of the State.

The system is made up of subsidized establishments, municipal and private establishments with four levels of education: pre-school or early education, elementary or primary, high school and higher education.

Coverage of Chile’s education system is practically universal. 99.7% of all children between the age of 6 and 14 are enrolled in elementary or primary school (EGB).

87.7% of all children between the age of 15 and 18 are enrolled in high school. 2009 higher education figures indicate that total enrollment in 2008 came to 752,182 students, the highest rate in history and up 14% compared to 2007. The system coverage is already surpassing 40%, which is very high and even comparable to some developed countries.

Advances have been possible because the education system is obligatory and the most recent administrations have put forth important efforts aimed to improve education quality.