The situation of public education in Iquique, Litoral province of Tarapaca, Peru, is studied by reviewing the regional press published between 1861 and 1879. Methodologically, three newspapers of regional circulation were reviewed: El Mercurio de Tarapaca (Editions from 1861 to 1869); El Comercio de Iquique (Editions from 1874 to 1879); and El Mercurio de Iquique (Editions from 1870 to 1879); newspapers of liberal inspiration, which circulated in the region at a time when it was part of the sovereignty of the Peruvian State. It is observed that public instruction had resonance in the press of the time in order to make the school part of the regional institutional scenario of the Peruvian State under construction; the press expresses the ideals of civilization in the public instruction of Iquique; public instruction is appreciated as a problem of local interest for the development of Iquique.