The 2026 PAES results highlight stark disparities, with only one public school among the top 100. Experts criticize the focus on rankings and urge prioritizing students' emotional well-being. The gap between public and private schools has widened, according to alumni and professionals.
The 2026 PAES results, recently published, show that only one public school ranks among the top 100 nationally. This has sparked debate on equity in Chile's education system. Camila Ovalle, cofounder of bow.care, argues in a letter to La Tercera's editor that comparing public and private education is unhelpful. 'The problem is that we keep reading the results as if all students learn under the same conditions,' writes Ovalle. She stresses that well-being and mental health are basic conditions for learning, and emotional and social contexts directly impact performance, though they are often overlooked.
Meanwhile, Jorge Niño, an alumnus of Instituto Nacional, disputes Education Minister Javier Cataldo's claim that the system has evolved toward greater fairness in access to higher education. Niño notes that public school students have fewer opportunities to pursue desired careers due to the widening score gap. For instance, in 2014, Instituto Nacional was 13th with a score at 95.8% of the top result, but now it is 303rd with only 79.6%. 'The right to study at the desired institution depends directly on the score obtained,' Niño asserts.
Both perspectives agree that the debate should extend beyond rankings to address real learning conditions and close the educational gap.
