In April 2009, the OECD and the World Bank published a comprehensive review of national tertiary education policy in Chile. That publication – Reviews of National Policies for Education: Tertiary Education in Chile – provides an overview and recommendations for the medium and longer term development of tertiary education in Chile. As a follow on, the government of Chile requested the joint review team to conduct a specific analysis of the Becas Chile Programme (BCP) which provides scholarships for study abroad. The purpose of the analysis was to help the government take stock of the experience to date, identify strengths and weaknesses of the policy process and consider options for taking the initiative forward in the future. This report is the result.
The BCP is a big and bold initiative. It is planned to finance it through the interest earned on a USD 6 billion fund maintained abroad and sourced with revenues generated by copper exports. The BCP seeks to catalyse a significant leap forward for the quantity and quality of human capital in Chile through an out-of-country investment in technical, professional and graduate education. When the programme reaches a steady state of 3 300 students approved per year, projected participation will represent around 20% of Chile’s overall graduate degree enrolments. The programme also offers an extensive range of professional and technician development opportunities. Significantly, the BCP involves a doubling of Chile’s PhD enrolments, as a step to strengthening the tertiary education workforce and the research capacity of the Chilean economy.
This report reviews Chile’s scholarship abroad scheme and provides an overview of best practices for scholarship programmes at the international level. In addition it analyses the design and institutional framework of the Chilean programme and recommends ways to maintain and improve the scheme.
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