Taken from UNESCO, 2011

Colombia is one of few countries that requires one year of pre-primary education.  The General Education Law of 1994 established this obligatory year of preschool and named it as ‘Grade Zero’ (The Clearinghouse, 2006.) While these educational reforms have been an essential addition to the growth of services for preschool aged children, the attention given to these services is still minimal.  Although pre-primary enrollment numbers are increasing equally for both boys and girls, they are still barely at 50% and need significant improvement. (The Clearinghouse, 2006)

Taken from UNESCO, 2011

Primary and secondary education in Colombia have been of a particular focus for the government in recent years. According to the new constitution of 1991, education is both free and compulsory for students ages 5-15. This includes 1 year of pre-primary school and 9 years of primary and secondary school. Since the passing of the new constitution, a 16% increase has been seen in primary school enrollment (UNESCO, 2011.) This number is estimated to rise in response to the law passed in 2012 that actually enforces the constitution. 

Taken from UNESCO, 2011

While UNESCO does not have statistics showing the net enrollment rates (NER) in secondary education before 2011, the gross enrollment rate (GER) of both boys and girls in 1991 was 52% in comparison with the GER today of 97%. The NER today of boys and girls is 76% (UNESCO, 2011.)

Taken from UNESCO, 2011

Tertiary enrollment rates in Colombia have also been steadily increasing since the early 1990s. However, this number is still significantly lower than the OECD average and government officials are working to make improvements. Over 30% of Colombia’s population is below the age of 15 years old and will be graduating high school in the coming years. Right now only about 35% of those graduating high school enter the higher education system. Government officials in Colombia are working to increase this percentage to at least 50% in the coming years (UNICEF, 2008.)

References

1. UNICEF. (2008). Education statistics: Colombia . Retrieved from http://www.childinfo.org/files/LAC_Colombia.pdf

2. UNESCO (2011). Uis statistics in brief: Colombia general profile. Retrieved from http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=121&IF_Language=en&BR_Country=1700

3. The Clearinghouse on International Developments in Child, Youth and Family Policies at Columbia University. (2006). Colombia. Retrieved from http://www.childpolicyintl.org/countries/Colombia.html