One of the reasons why some people are having a hard time deciding to transfer to another country is the state of education. If you are a parent, it is only natural to try to give the best for your children, and that includes the best education that you can give to your kids.
Well, fortunately, Costa Rica has a lot of good schools, both private and public ones. It has the best literacy rate in Central America (93%), reflecting the vast investments that the government has put into these schools. Even the most remote areas of the country have schools of their own. In fact, there are more teachers here than police forces. Now that's what you call dedication to education.
Primary school lasts here for six years, while high school education lasts a typical time of five years. The schoolyear schedule here goes from February to December, although a lot of international schools, particularly those in San Jose, have a cycle in sync with that in the United States.
Most Costa Ricans prefer to send their children to private schools, although a great number of people are still in public institution. Maybe it's because private education here is very cheap as well. Some schools charge a mere $100 per month to cover the tuition fees and relevant expenses.
As for the language used in teaching the children, it's also a bit varied. The more expensive schools typically use English as the exclusive medium of instruction, while the cheaper ones either go for a bilingual approach or an exclusively Costa Rican medium.
Now if you're looking for university education, four state-funded universities and a number of smaller private schools can also help you. The most prominent of these schools is the University of Costa Rica (UCR), located in San Jose as well. Tuition fee here amount to as little as only $200 per semester. The UCR also has campus in provinces like Alajuela, Turrialba, Puntaneras, and Cartago. There are currently 35,000 students here taking classes across dozens of available majors.
