Rejection of profiteering report inflames Chilean students

Camila Vallejo, a leading figure in Chile’s student
protest movement. Courtesy of Eneas/Flickr.

Student leaders and opposition politicians vowed to protest Thursday’s ruling by the Chamber of Deputies to reject the findings of a report on the profiteering of education, claiming that seven private universities in the country broke a law that forbids them to profit from education provision.

The controversial subject matter decided with 46 in favor, 45 against and one abstention, is highly criticized by students.

“For the first time a state body was going to recognize that there had been profiteering in education, but it is a tremendous frustration that it was not achieved, and is a bad sign for Chilean families,” said Dep. Alejandra Sepúlveda, president of the committee that submitted the report.

President of the Federation of Students of Universidad Católica (FEUC) Noam Titelman expressed his regret at the outcome of the vote but maintained that the mobilized student movement would not slow down.

“We believe it is important to remain forceful, we will not go home because we know that it is essential to continue demanding that those who are consistently violating the law will have to pay,” Titelman said.

During the vote, some students led protests, as they have been since 2011, to demand greater equality in public education and an end to profiteering.

One of those present at the protests, Camila Vallejo, the vice president of the Federation of Chilean Students (Fech), criticized the politicians from the conservative Alianza coalition who rejected the report’s findings.

“We were surprised by the position taken by the Alianza,” Vallejo said. “And not only the pressure brought on by the deputies and Congress, but also by the administration itself.”

President of the Communist Party (PC) Dep. Guillermo Teillier said he valued the findings of the investigative committee and criticized the position of the Alianza and the administration, echoing Vallejo’s statements.

“It is undeniable that in Chile we have a government that defends profiting from higher education through a ‘cabinet of profit’ that is not ready to give in to indefensible practices,” Tellier said.