Fears of free tuition crackdown as Chile moves to exempt over-30s

Plans to restrict free university tuition to under-30s in Chile will have a limited direct impact but could signal the start of a wider rollback of the country’s flagship higher education policy, according to academics.

Since being sworn in as president in March, right-wing leader José Antonio Kast has enacted austerity measures aimed at reducing the country’s budget deficit, including ordering spending cuts of 3 per cent across all government departments.

His administration has also proposed limiting free university tuition to those under the age of 30. Chile initially implemented a free tuition policy in 2016, and it was later extended to about 60 per cent of households, with wealthier families exempt.

If the restriction is implemented, its direct impact is likely to be minimal, said Carolina Guzmán-Valenzuela, senior research fellow at the University of Tarapacá, because students above the age of 30 represent only 1 to 2 per cent of those who currently receive free tuition.

“However, the significance of the proposal lies less in its scale and more in what it signals,” she said.

“Free tuition has been one of the most visible and politically significant higher education policies in Chile over the past decade.

“Even relatively minor restrictions could be seen as part of a gradual shift in the policy’s focus from a flagship equity reform to a more targeted and fiscally constrained instrument.”

Veronica Santelices, associate professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, agreed that the number of affected students would be small, but pointed out that this meant that financial savings for the government would be minor.

Technical institutions would be exempt from the change as the government attempts to tackle the country’s high unemployment rate, with vocational courses seen as a pathway to jobs.

The government is also considering limiting the expansion of free tuition in the future – currently leaders are legally obliged to do this if Chile’s wealth increases – but this would require approval from Congress.

Guzmán-Valenzuela said there is currently an absence of alternative proposals for student finance, which could reinforce “reliance on individual debt”.

“In this context, there is concern that this may be the start of an incremental process of restriction, not necessarily through major reforms, but rather through gradual changes to eligibility, coverage or funding conditions; a policy, in short, of constraint through slippage.”

There were fears when Kast was elected that he could follow the approach of other populist leaders such as Donald Trump in directly attacking higher education.

However, Santelices said that the policy was being seen as a cost-saving move rather than as a direct attack on universities.

Other measures enacted by Kast’s government could also affect Chile’s higher education ecosystem.

In particular, Kast has demanded the resignation of the head of the Higher Education Superintendency – a government body responsible for overseeing universities – following an investigation by the body into irregular payments made by universities to politicians, including members of Kast’s own Republican Party.

The former leader of the superintendency, José Miguel Salazar, was thought to have prioritised close scrutiny of the quality of private institutions. Santelices said his departure could be perceived as a way of “relaxing the rules” for private providers.

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com