Education
The public school system is administered by the Puerto Rico Department of Education and has an organizational structure that is similar to the grade-level designations used in the United States (Rivera, 2005).
In Puerto Rico, school is compulsory for those between ages 5 and 18 (primary and secondary school years). Most of the 800,000 students are enrolled in public schools, but some go to private schools. There are approximately 1,500 public schools, 500 private schools, and 50 colleges in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico has one of the highest college education rates in the world with 56% of college-age students (ages 20-24) attending universities, colleges, professional schools, or technical schools. The overall literacy rate is 90%.
English was the language of instruction in Puerto Rican schools between 1900 and 1948. Since then, the medium of instruction in most schools is Spanish, but English is taught as part of the curriculum from kindergarten through high school.
As recently as 2012, former Governor Fortuno began to introduce a plan called the Comprehensive Bilingual Generation Program with the goal of producing students with a full command of both English and Spanish by 2023 to increase economic opportunities. The plan called for students ages 5-9 to be taught all subjects in English with the exception of Spanish and History. Governor Fortuno lost his bid for a second term and was replaced in January 2013 by Alejandro Javier García Padilla, and it is not clear if this transition will take place.
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In Puerto Rico, school is compulsory for those between ages 5 and 18 (primary and secondary school years). Most of the 800,000 students are enrolled in public schools, but some go to private schools. There are approximately 1,500 public schools, 500 private schools, and 50 colleges in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico has one of the highest college education rates in the world with 56% of college-age students (ages 20-24) attending universities, colleges, professional schools, or technical schools. The overall literacy rate is 90%.
English was the language of instruction in Puerto Rican schools between 1900 and 1948. Since then, the medium of instruction in most schools is Spanish, but English is taught as part of the curriculum from kindergarten through high school.
As recently as 2012, former Governor Fortuno began to introduce a plan called the Comprehensive Bilingual Generation Program with the goal of producing students with a full command of both English and Spanish by 2023 to increase economic opportunities. The plan called for students ages 5-9 to be taught all subjects in English with the exception of Spanish and History. Governor Fortuno lost his bid for a second term and was replaced in January 2013 by Alejandro Javier García Padilla, and it is not clear if this transition will take place.
Sources: