Original article: Colegio de Profesores calificó como «pobre» y «autocomplaciente» la Cuenta Pública de Kast en materia educacional

Teachers’ Union Criticizes Kast’s Public Account as «Weak» and «Self-Satisfied» in Education

Mario Aguilar, the national president of the Teachers’ Union, described the public account presented by President José A. Kast as «weak, lacking, and self-satisfied,» emphasizing that it failed to address the «substantial» issues in education.

The union leader attended Congress to hear the President’s address, after which he stated that there was «very little on education; it was very poor. The substantive issues were not addressed, as there was only a mention of security through the Protected Schools project, but nothing about what we consider the fundamental problem causing severe acts of violence, which is mental health.»

In Aguilar’s view, this is compounded by «an entirely outdated curriculum, and societal issues that affect families, spilling over into schools in the form of violence.»

«There was not a single mention of this; only surveillance, repression, and punishment—necessary in certain grave cases and for serious crimes, of course, but to assume that the severe problems currently facing education can be resolved solely with that is simply naïve,» asserted the representative of the country’s teachers.

«Nor was there any mention of support for schools in terms of professional reinforcement to tackle these serious social and mental health issues,» Aguilar insisted.

School Infrastructure and Maintenance

Another concern raised by the teaching community was the lack of concrete references to the infrastructure and maintenance issues currently facing many educational establishments across the country.

«There was no mention of the significant cuts occurring in budgets, particularly regarding infrastructure, which already has serious maintenance problems, and now there are further reductions,» argued the union representative.

«Not a single mention was made regarding this; on the contrary, it was confirmed. By not mentioning it, we can understand that there is a confirmation of the decrease in resources for education, which is extremely concerning to us,» Aguilar warned.

«We find it poor, and saying ‘we are generating a new way of governing’ while what we have witnessed is a government with serious installation issues seems overly self-satisfied, making this an account that remains lacking for the majority of Chilean citizens,» concluded the president of the Teachers’ Union.

We will continue to provide updates.