Education in the Dominican Republic
 |
|
| Primary languages | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Total | 91.8% |
| Male | 91.2% |
| Female | 92.3% |
In the Dominican Republic, education is free and compulsory at the elementary level, and free but non-mandatory at the secondary level. It is divided into four stages:
Literacy rates and school participation in the Dominican Republic has risen over the past years. Through these efforts, women have reported fast upward movement in social class partially due to increased education. There have been numerous efforts to evaluate teachers, students, and facilities through examinations. Teachers in the Dominican Republic rate higher in multiple aspects than other countries in Latin America, however, still rank below many other countries. The school conditions vary based on whether the school is private, polytechnic, or public non-polytechnic, with decreasing quality facilities respectively. A very similar trend has been found in student performance. Despite advances in the education system, there are still issues in regards to gender inequality, participation in the education system, and involvement of outside organizations.
Literacy is defined by the NCES as having the ability to use printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential. According to the CIA World Factbook, 91.8% of the population over the age of 15 is considered literate. Literacy for females is listed at 92.3% while literacy for males is listed at 91.2%. Compared to the world, these numbers are higher than the average. Worldwide literacy is at 86.1%. For males, worldwide literacy is at 89.9% and for females world literacy is at 82.2%. The CIA world factbook also shows data on the school life expectancy of students in the Dominican Republic. For males, this life expectancy is at 13 years old which is slightly lower than the female school life expectancy of 14 years old. The Dominican Republic National Education Profile reflects this showing higher levels of completion for both primary as well as secondary schools.
A report by the United States Agency for International Development, ranks the Dominican Republic 143rd in quality of primary education and 137th in quality of the education system. This ranking is out of 144 countries worldwide. In 1980, the percent of the Dominican Republic's GDP that went towards education was 2%. This value dropped to 0.88% in 1990. The education spending has since gone back up to around 4% of the GDP.
The Dominican Republic Education System is governed by four government organizations: the State Secretariat for Education (part of the executive branch of the government), in charge of the management and orientation of the education system; the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology; and the National Institute of Professional and Technical Training.
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