Chile Guide: Education

Find information about universities, admission processes, tuition fees and how the education system works. You will also find information about other learning opportunities in further education.

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  An overview

  The Chilean education system

  Chile has the best education system in Latin America according to the PISA report, coming 44th out of 65 countries. The report compares education systems by assessing 15 year olds’ ability in reading, mathematics and science.

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  Preschool in Chile

  Nursery and kindergarten

  Chile has a long tradition of state-funded preschools (educación infantil), with over 90% of children under five attending before starting compulsory schooling.

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  Chilean state schools

  Overview and special needs

  Although state-funded schools are termed “public schools” in Chile, the term state has been used in preference to public in this article to prevent confusion with the term “public school”, which, in the UK, refers to a private, fee-paying school. The state school system in Chile differs from the school systems in, for example, the UK and US.

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  School rules

  Academic calendar, school hours and uniform

  In Chile, school starts in March to December, with two weeks of winter holiday in July and summer holidays from mid December to March. Enrollments must be made in July and August to start lessons in March the next year.

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  Primary & secondary schools in Chile

  Curricula and enrollment

  Compulsory education (escolaridad obligatoria), also called ‘basic general education’ (enseñanza básica or EGB), begins at the age of six in a primary school (escuela primaria) and lasts for eight years.

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  Private schools in Chile

  International schooling options

  Approximately 7% of children in Chile attend private schools. However, some state schools (mostly, non-subsidised) ask for some fees in order to improve their services and therefore, act similarly to private schools.

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  Higher education in Chile

  Universities and colleges

  Higher education in Chile includes professional institutes (IP), technical schooling centers (CFT) and universities. There are around 25 traditional universities (16 of them are public) and over 30 private ones.

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