Education in Panama is compulsory for the first six years of primary education and the first three years of secondary school. [1] [2] As of the 2004/2005 school year there were about 430,000 students enrolled in grades one through six (95% attendance). [1] The total enrollment in the six secondary grades for the same period was 253,900 (60% attendance). [1] More than 91% of Panamanians are literate. [1]
As of 2004, more than 92,500 Panamanian students attended the University of Panama, the Technological University of Panama, West Coast University – Panama, Polytechnic University of Central America and the University of Santa Maria La Antigua, a private Catholic institution. [1] Including smaller colleges, there are 88 institutions of higher education in Panama. [1]
Public education began in Panama soon after separating from Colombia in 1903. In 1906, the Panama College was found by Methodists. Nowadays it is called the Panamerican Institute. The first efforts were guided by a paternalistic view of the goals of education, as evidenced in comments made in a 1913 meeting of the First Panamanian Educational Assembly: "The cultural heritage given to the child should be determined by the social position he will or should occupy. For this reason, sex education should be different in accordance with the social class to which the student should be related." This elitist focus changed rapidly under United States influence. [3]
By the 1920s, Panamanian education subscribed to a progressive educational system, explicitly designed to assist the able and ambitious individual in search of upward social mobility. Successive national governments gave a high priority to the development of a system of (at least) universal primary education. In the late 1930s, as much as one-fourth of the national budget went to education. Between 1920 and 1934, primary-school enrollment doubled. Adult illiteracy, more than 70 percent in 1923, dropped to roughly half the adult population in scarcely more than a decade. [3]
By the early 1950s, adult illiteracy had dropped to 28 percent. The rate of gain had also declined and further improvements were slow in coming. The 1950s saw essentially no improvement; adult world life illiteracy was 27 percent in 1960. There were notable gains in the 1960s, however, and the rate of adult illiteracy dropped 8 percentage points by 1970. According to 1980 estimates, only 13 percent of Panamanians over 10 years of age were illiterate. Men and women were approximately equally represented among the literate. The most notable disparity was between urban and rural Panama; 94 percent of city-dwelling adults were literate but less than two-thirds of those in the countryside were—a figure that also represented continued high illiteracy rates among the country's Indian population. [3]
From the 1950s through the early 1980s, education enrollments expanded faster than the rate of population growth as a whole and, for most of that period, faster than the school-age population. The steepest increases came in secondary and higher education enrollments, which increased ten and more than thirty times respectively. By the mid-1980s, primary school enrollment rates were roughly 113 percent of the primary-school-aged population. Male and female enrollments were relatively equal overall, although there were significant regional variations. [3]
Enrollments at upper levels of schooling had increased strikingly in relative and absolute terms since 1960. Between 1960 and the mid-1980s, secondary-school enrollments expanded some four-and-a-half times and higher education nearly twelve-fold. In 1965, fewer than one-third of children of secondary school age were in school and only 7 percent of people ages 20 to 24 years. In the mid-1980s, almost two-thirds of secondary-school-age children were enrolled, and about 20 percent of individuals ages 20 to 24 years were in institutions of higher education. [3]
Currently Panama has an overall literacy rate of more than 94%. [4]
The preschool level is aimed at children between 4 and 5 years old; There are two stages of education, pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, both with a duration of 1 year each.
The elementary level has a duration of 6 years and is aimed at students between the ages of six and twelve. Basic subjects such as Spanish, English, Mathematics, Natural Science, Social Science, Arts, Music, Technology, Physical Education, Home Education and Agriculture are taught.
The next stage is the pre-media cycle with a duration of 3 years, aimed at students between 12 and 15 years of age. At the end of this level the student receives the Certificate of General Basic Education. The objective is to favor that all students of school age reach, according to their potential, the full development of their abilities and skills to be able to follow their professional or work path. The areas of study are: Spanish, Geography, History, Civics, Science, Technology, Typing, Arts, Industrial Arts, Music, Mathematics, Notions of Commerce and Accounting, Physical Education, Agriculture and English.
It lasts 3 years (or 2 years in alternative schools) and is aimed at students between 15 and 18 years old. At the end of this stage the student receives the High School Diploma in one of the following modalities:
The modality is chosen by the student just before the end of pre-media, and it cannot be changed afterwards, except in rare circumstances.
Higher education in Panama is divided into 2 types: University Superior and Non-University Superior. University higher education is taught in several official and private universities. Official or state universities are autonomous state educational entities dedicated to human development and high-quality professional training at an affordable cost. They are responsible for overseeing that the professional education given in private universities meets the highest quality standards, they are also responsible for homologating the degrees obtained in universities in other countries. The State Universities of Panama are:
Private universities in Panama are duly accredited to offer a whole range of professions and are constantly evaluated to ensure the highest standard and quality of their careers: Some private universities are:
In general, undergraduate studies have a duration of 4 years, with the exceptions being exact sciences and engineering careers, that last 5 years and health sciences careers that last 6 years. Postgraduate studies have a duration that varies depending on the career.
Higher non-university education is made up of "Higher Education Institutes" or "Higher Education Centers" that provide diplomas and professional technical training of the highest level.
Among the State Superior Institutes are:
Among the private higher institutes are:
Education in China is primarily managed by the state-run public education system, which falls under the Ministry of Education. All citizens must attend school for a minimum of nine years, known as nine-year compulsory education, which is funded by the government.
Higher education in Japan is provided at universities, junior colleges, colleges of technology and special training schools and community colleges. Of these four types of institutions, only universities and junior colleges are strictly considered postsecondary education providers. The modern Japanese higher education system has undergone numerous changes since the Meiji period and was largely modeled after Western countries such as Britain, France, Germany, and the United States of America combined with traditional Japanese pedagogical elements to create a unique Japanese model to serve its national needs. The Japanese higher education system differs from higher education in most other countries in many significant ways. Key differences include the method of acceptance, which relies almost entirely on one or two tests, as opposed to the usage of GPAs or percentages or other methods of assessment and evaluation of prospective applicants used in countries throughout the Western world. As students only have one chance to take this test each year, there is an enormous amount of pressure to perform well on it, as the majority of the time during a student's senior high school years is dedicated to performing well on this single test. Japanese high school students are faced with immense pressure to succeed academically from their parents, extended family members, teachers, guidance counselors, peers, and society at large. This mindset is largely based on a result of a traditional society that has historically placed an enormous amount of importance on the encouragement of study on top of the merits of scholarship and benefits of pursuing higher education, especially in an education system that places all of its weight upon a single examination that has significant life-long consequences on one's eventual socioeconomic status, promising marriage prospects, entrance into a prestigiously elite white-collar occupation, and a respectable professional career path. Unlike higher education in some other countries, public universities in Japan are generally regarded as more prestigious than private universities, especially the National Seven Universities.
Education in Rwanda has undergone considerable changes throughout Rwanda's recent history, and has faced major disruptions due to periods of conflict. Education was divided by gender whereby women and men had a different education relevant to their responsibilities in day-to-day life. Women were mostly taught housekeeping while men were mainly taught how to hunt, raise animals, and fish. This is because Rwanda was a community-based society where every member had a specific contribution to the overall development of the community. Older family members like grandparents usually took on the role of educators.
Education in Bolivia, as in many other areas of Bolivian life, has a divide between Bolivia's rural and urban areas. Rural illiteracy levels remain high, even as the rest of the country becomes increasingly literate. Bolivia devotes 23% of its annual budget to educational expenditures, a higher percentage than in most other South American countries, albeit from a smaller national budget. A comprehensive, education reform has made some significant changes. Initiated in 1994, the reform decentralized educational funding in order to meet diverse local needs, improved teacher training and curricula, formalized and expanded intercultural bilingual education and changed the school grade system. Resistance from teachers’ unions, however, has slowed implementation of some of the intended reforms.
Education in the Syrian Arab Republic is given the necessary attention and care by the Syrian state, as the Constitution of Syria guarantees the right to education to every citizen, which is compulsory and free at primary level. It is free but not compulsory at the secondary level and higher education is available for a symbolic fee. the primary level includes 3 stages, 1 which include grades 1 to 6, while 2 includes grades 7 to 9,and lastly 3 grades 10 to 12
Public education in Saudi Arabia—from primary education through college—is open to every Saudi citizen. Education is the second-largest sector of government spending in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia spends 8.8% of its gross domestic product on education, which is nearly double the global average of 4.6%. Saudi Arabia is an Islamic country and therefore Islam is interwoven in every part of society, also in education. Islamic studies are part of the education system alongside scientific and social studies that vary from educational institution to another. Important goals of education in Saudi Arabia are to teach the students the economic, religious and social norms of the country. They also want to reduce the high illiteracy. The education system consists of 3 levels: primary education, intermediate education and secondary education.
Education in the State of Palestine refers to the educational system in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which is administered by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Enrollment rates amongst Palestinians are relatively high by regional and global standards. According to a youth survey in 2003, 60% between the ages 10–24 indicated that education was their first priority. Youth literacy rate was 98.2%, while the national literacy rate was 91.1% in 2006. The literacy rate ages 15-24 was 99.4% in 2016. Enrollment ratios for higher education were 45% in 2022. In 2016 Hanan Al Hroub was awarded the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize for her work in teaching children how to cope with violence.
Education in Lebanon is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE). In Lebanon, the main three languages, English and/or French with Arabic are taught from early years in schools. English or French are the mandatory media of instruction for mathematics and sciences for all schools. Education is compulsory from age 3 to 14.
The education system of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan includes basic, secondary, and higher education and has dramatically evolved since the establishment of the state in the early 1900s. The role played by a good education system has been significant in the development of Jordan from a predominantly agrarian to an industrialized nation over time.
Yemen ranked 150 out of 177 in the 2006 Human Development Index and 121 out of 140 countries in the Gender Development Index (2006). In 2005, 81 percent of Yemen's school-age population was enrolled in primary school; enrollment of the female population was 74 percent. Then in 2005, about 46 percent of the school-age population was enrolled in secondary school, including only 30 percent of eligible females. The country is still struggling to provide the requisite infrastructure. School facilities and educational materials are of poor quality, classrooms are too few in number, and the teaching faculty is inadequate.
The education system in Morocco comprises pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary levels. School education is supervised by the Ministry of National Education, with considerable devolution to the regional level. Higher education falls under the Ministry of Higher Education and Executive Training.
The State of Kuwait, located at the head of the Persian Gulf, supports an educational policy that seeks to provide an opportunity to all children, irrespective of their social class, including children with special needs. Kuwait was ranked 63rd on the Human Development Index report for 2011 by the United Nations Development Programme, placing Kuwait above the regional average.
In 2005, the literacy rate in Laos was estimated to be 73%.
Education in Angola has six years of compulsory education, under the Angolan Education Law (13/01) of 31 December 2001. Basic adult literacy continues to be low, but there are conflicting figures from government and other sources. It is difficult to assess literacy and education needs. According to 2015 estimates, the literacy rate in Angola is 71.1% . On the other hand, the university system has been developing considerably over the last decade.
Education in Ivory Coast continues to face many challenges. Among sub-Saharan African countries, Ivory Coast has one of the highest literacy rates. According to The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency as of facts. The literacy rate for adults remains low: in 2000, it was estimated that only 48.7% of the total population was literate. Many children between 6 and 10 years are not enrolled in school, mainly children of poor families. The majority of students in secondary education are male. At the end of secondary education, students can sit the Baccalauréat examination. The country has universities in Abidjan, Bouaké, and Yamoussoukro.
The first documented school in Lithuania was established in 1387 at Vilnius Cathedral. The school network was influenced by the Christianization of Lithuania. Several types of schools were present in medieval Lithuania – cathedral schools, where pupils were prepared for priesthood; parish schools, offering elementary education; and home schools dedicated to educating the children of the Lithuanian nobility. Before Vilnius University was established in 1579, Lithuanians seeking higher education attended universities in foreign cities, including Kraków, Prague, and Leipzig, among others. During the Interbellum a national university – Vytautas Magnus University was founded in Kaunas.
Since gaining independence from France in 1956, the government of Tunisia has focused on developing an education system which produces a solid human capital base that could respond to the changing needs of a developing nation. Sustained structural reform efforts since the early 1990s, prudent macroeconomic policies, and deeper trade integration in the global economy have created an enabling environment for growth. This environment has been conducive to attain positive achievements in the education sector which placed Tunisia ahead of countries with similar income levels, and in a good position to achieve MDGs. According to the HDI 2007, Tunisia is ranked 90 out of 182 countries and is ranked 4th in MENA region just below Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan. Education is the number one priority of the government of Tunisia, with more than 20 percent of government’s budget allocated for education in 2005/06. As of 2006 the public education expenditure as a percentage of GDP stood at 7 percent.
The history of education in Angola refers to the formal education in Angola during the different periods of Portuguese presence and colonial occupation as well as during the postcolonial phases.
Education in South Sudan is modelled after the educational system of the Republic of Sudan. Primary education consists of eight years, followed by four years of secondary education, and then four years of university instruction; the 8 + 4 + 4 system, in place since 1990. The primary language at all levels is English, as compared to the Republic of Sudan, where the language of instruction is Arabic. There is a severe shortage of English teachers and English-speaking teachers in the scientific and technical fields.