The Peruvian education system is divided into early or initial education, primary education, secondary education and higher education.
Education in Peru begins from the age of three, at pre-school. Somewhere over half of children between three and five years old go to pre-school in Peru, which is one of the top enrollment rates in Latin America.
The purpose of initial (pre-school) education is to maximise the child’s development by progressing their intellectual, emotional and physical abilities in order to prepare them for the years of education that follow. Pre-school education is provided in nursery schools and through non-school programmes targeted at poor children in rural and marginal urban areas.
At primary school, there are six grades over the course of six years. The student begins this stage of education at the age of 6, and starts the first of three cycles (one every two grades). Primary education covers around 95 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 11. After sixth grade, the pupil goes on to secondary school, so long as they achieve an average mark of 11 out of 20 and have passed at least language or mathematics.
Secondary education covers around 70% of children between the ages of 12 and 16 nationally, but this percentage falls considerably in rural and poor areas. Secondary school is organised in two cycles: the first applies to all pupils, lasts two years and is compulsory. The second cycle, lasting three years, is diversified, with options for arts, sciences and technical subjects. It is provided in two forms: for adolescents (aged 12 to 16) and adults. According to the 1993 Peruvian constitution, secondary education is also compulsory.
Higher education is provided in higher schools and institutes, higher postgraduate centres and universities. Many further education establishments offer short courses in addition to their regular ones. The institutes offer teaching training programmes as well as a variety of technical options. Courses in institutes last between 4 and 10 academic semesters. Institutes and Higher schools award professional, technical and expert diplomas, as well as those for second and subsequent professional specialities. There are also specific technological colleges in Peru which are both public and private. They offer courses which last three years and a title as a ‘Technical Professional’ upon graduation. Some courses may be four years in length, from which a student would graduate with a higher title of ‘Professional’. Universities award bachelor and master’s degrees and doctorates, as well as professional certificates and degrees.
As far as school uniform is concerned, Peru’s Ministry of Education announced just before the 2008 school year that school uniform would not be mandatory and that children could not be excluding for not wearing it.
School pupils attend school from around 8am to 2pm, Monday to Friday. The academic calendar is split into two semesters. The first semester begins at the beginning of March and finishes at the end of July. This holiday comes after exams and coincides with Las Fiestas Patrias (28th & 29th July), both for primary and secondary school. The second semester lasts from August to December, finishing for Christmas.
At the end of the school year, results are collected and given out. These results determine whether a pupil has passed or failed the year. The grades awarded may take the form of letters or numbers depending on the school.
In the letter system, students can be given an A (pass), a B (nivelación - learning in process) or a C (fail).
Grading with numbers ranges from 0 to 20. Generally speaking, pupils need at least a 12 to pass, but some schools require 11 or 13. Anything lower than this results in a fail. The highest marks are between 16 and 20.