Teachers’ Union Raises Alarm Over 2027 Budget Cuts: Aguilar Critiques Proposed Layoffs of 2,000 Educators

Original article: Colegio de Profesores en alerta por Presupuesto 2027: Aguilar cuestiona recortes y evalúa acciones por eventual despido de 2.000 docentes

“This is absolutely concerning. We consider it very serious because any ordinary citizen, I believe, does not need to be an expert in education to clearly see that the issue in education is a lack of resources, not an overabundance,” stated Mario Aguilar, President of the Chilean Teachers’ Union, as he addressed the state of alert within the union due to proposed cuts in the 2027 Budget for educational matters.

In an interview with the first edition of Radioanálisis on Radio U. de Chile, the union leader warned that the school system and educational institutions are already operating in a state of precariousness, and instead of cutting funding, there is a need for increased financing. He also commented on the recent remarks by Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz, who did not rule out layoffs of 2,000 teachers due to a reduction of maximum hours by approximately 3.6% in the national budget, indicating that the teachers’ union is considering taking legal, administrative, and public action.

One of the points Aguilar criticized is the action taken by José Antonio Kast’s government to eliminate the historic program «I Choose My PC». This initiative, which began in 2009, provided computers to 96,100 students this year alone through the Technology, Information, and Communication Access Scholarships (TIC) from Junaeb.

From La Moneda, the decision to discontinue the TIC Scholarships has been defended on the grounds that it is a program “that has been under evaluation for a long time and has been poorly assessed,” asserting that it “does not have a relevant effect on learning” and involves implementation issues.

In response, Aguilar urged the Ministry of Education, led by Minister María Paz Arzola González, to “show the studies” and data that support these claims.

“On what information, on what evidence does the minister say it has not impacted learning? There is none; I am not aware of any serious studies,” he asserted during the interview.

The head of the Teachers’ Union also mentioned the socioeconomic reality of students, particularly those whose families cannot afford to acquire a computer.

“We do not need to be geniuses or education experts here; ordinary people can understand how difficult it can be for a child from a low-income family to have a computer,” he emphasized, underlining that there is a social dimension that cannot be ignored in the budget discussion.

For the leader, access to a computer remains a concrete barrier for thousands of families, and eliminating such support would exacerbate the inequalities already present in the system.

Teachers’ Union Considers Appeals to Oversight for Possible Layoffs

The potential reduction of teaching staff was also a target of his criticism. It is worth recalling that in an interview with Radio Infinita, Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz proposed that the allocation for the Local Public Education Services (SLEP) and low birth rates means there will be no increased income in the school system, which he believes necessitates “achieving better efficiencies.”

“That will naturally lead to optimizing and there will probably need to be layoffs, but those layoffs do not relate to not providing the social benefit; the benefit is the right to education. Let’s not confuse the right to educate with the obligation to employ; these are different things,” affirmed the state secretary.

In this regard, Aguilar rejected arguments related to the decline in enrollment due to low birth rates, as well as the intention to merge schools or classes to optimize resources without considering the unique characteristics of each territory.

“They have no idea what community identity means, they have no idea of the realities of roads in winter, they have no clue what the topography or geography of a particular area entails,” he questioned, directly pointing to the lack of judgment in the budgetary decisions of Kast’s administration.

The leader also referred to Quiroz’s remarks regarding possible teacher layoffs, in which he stated: “Let’s not confuse the Ministry of Education with the Ministry of Teachers.” Aguilar warned that this measure could have a very serious impact on the education that Chile’s children receive, anticipating that various legal and administrative actions will follow, including appeals to the oversight office. He also mentioned potential mobilizations.

“We are considering if we should take any action to the oversight office or even to the courts when he announces two thousand layoffs,” he emphasized in the interview with Radioanálisis.

He also made it clear that the Teachers’ Union does not rule out new mobilizations and public actions.

Aguilar recalled that the union already conducted a three-day march between Santiago and Valparaíso to highlight the impacts of the budget cuts, and indicated that they aim to influence the parliamentary debate on the 2027 Budget Law. “Of course, we are talking about mobilizations, and in fact, we have already conducted mobilizations,” he reiterated.