Support for Education

Education is a key factor for improving people's quality of life and their potential for development. From the very start of its operations, Collahuasi has, therefore, sought to contribute to improvements in education in the region as part of its commitment to the progress of the communities where it operates. Each year, it has awarded three university scholarships to students from Pica and the Aymara people as well as investing in community training programmes.

In 2009, it launched the Collahuasi Educational Foundation with its strategic partners in the initiative, the Sociedad de Instrucción Primaria (SIP) and Fundación Chile. This project seeks to promote best educational practices in the schools of the Tarapacá Region, thereby helping to raise teaching standards.  

In operation in 18 schools, it will, over a period of four years, benefit more than 4,000 children and young people. In its first year, the Potenciando Escuelas (Boosting Schools) and Mejor Escuela (Better School) programmes have improved the reading speed of first-year primary schoolchildren in Iquique and Alto Hospicio from 17% to 52% as compared to 2008 and, in the case of children in the Tamarugal Province, from 36% to 49%.

As part of its commitment to education in Chile, Collahuasi has also contributed to the reconstruction of the Insular Robinson Crusoe School on Juan Fernández Island and the Pablo Neruda School in Navidad in the O’Higgins Region, after the severe damage they suffered as a result of the earthquake and tsunami that hit central-southern Chile on 27 February 2010. In both cases, modern pre-fabricated facilities were installed, allowing the children to return to classes in April and May, respectively.

Collahuasi’s concern for education is, however, not confined to its financial contribution and it decided to extend the support of its Educational Foundation to both these schools which will, as a result, also benefit from the educational improvement programme that it has been implementing in 18 schools in the Tarapacá Region since 2009.