There is no doubt at all that Costa Ricans have a high literacy and they are most certainly proud of it! This country has had that good fortune of having people that have been highly concerned for education as their leaders. Jose Maria Castro, one of the country's early fathers was a teacher, as well as other Costa Rican presidents. Costa Rica was the first country in the world to make education a free service, but obligatory at the same time, this happened in 1869. When that took place, only 1 in 5 Costa Ricans could read and write, but by 1920, 50% of the population was literate and by 1970, writing and reading reached 89% of the population.
The education standards have risen considerably in the past 20 years, mainly because since the 1970's more than 28% of the national budget has been invested on primary and secondary education.
In every community, no matter where you go, there is an education institution to be found and students are not required to pay for assistance in public schools. On elementary schools there are 6 levels to be approved and 5 in High School. After the last year in high school, students are required to take the "bachillerato" tests, a requirement to get the diploma needed for admission to universities.
Even though the first public university was founded until 1940, Costa Rica now as four public state-funded universities and plenty of small private ones.
Also, there are plenty of opportunities that the government hands out to adults who failed to get their degrees as children, so they can have formal education diplomas.
The largest and oldest university is the University of Costa Rica (UCR), which enrolls about 35,000 students, with high level education at a small cost, probably not more than $200 per semester. Scholarships are also widely available. The UCR has five regional centers in addition to the main campus, which is located in the heart of the capital city.
Another great public university is the National University, located in the province of Heredia, with courses in liberal arts, sciences, and professional studies taught to 13,000 students. The Technical Institute of Costa Rica in Cartago specializes in science and technology, and seeks to train people for agriculture, industry and mining.
Other than those public universities, there are many private ones like the Autonomous University of Central America, the University for Peace, sponsored by the United Nations offering a master's degree in communications for Peace, Universidad Latina and Universidad Hispanoamericana, with great medical programs, engineering programs and many other careers fit for this competitive world.
