Tensions in Chilean schools due to student protests

Protests and the occupation of schools marked the beginning of last week in Chile, where the University Selection Test (PSU, in Spanish) was scheduled for Monday and Tuesday 6-7 January, reports Prensa Latina.

The National Coordinator of High-School Students (CONES) and the Coordinating Assembly of High-School Students (ACES) of Chile, which reject that form of evaluation because it increases inequalities, called for a boycott of the process. Since early in the morning, several of the 160 schools nationwide that were chosen to conduct the test were occupied, as was the case in Santiago, Valparaiso, Concepcion, Puerto Montt, Copiapo and other cities.

The university admission tests, which were scheduled to begin at 9 am local time, with the participation of nearly 300,000 students from all over Chile, were suspended or postponed in the schools occupied by students, and in some cases, the venues were hastily changed. Notwithstanding, the vice-president of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities, Aldo Valle, called on students to remain calm, and reaffirmed the commitment of that institution to guaranteeing “equal conditions” for those who take the test.
Full report on the Prensa Latina site