Scandal-plagued higher education sector gets new minister

By María Elena Hurtado. Carolina Schmidt was appointed Chile’s new education minister last Monday and will face a formidable challenge despite her impressive credentials. On Thursday, student protests ended in violent clashes with police. Former minister Harald Beyer was recently impeached by the Senate and banned from public office for five years. Schmidt was the best-rated cabinet minister in her former job as head of the National Women’s Service, but the education portfolio is a political hot potato and there are contested draft bills to get through parliament. Read more...