Education in Paraguay

The Paraguayans for much of their history placed little value on education. When President Alfredo Stroessner ruled the country from 1954 to 1989 the education system took a further step backward in favor of economic development and keeping of total political control. However the year 2000 has seen improvement and education spending reached more than 4% percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in contrast to only around 1.7% in 1989. The increase in education funding helped in raising the salaries of teachers and updating the country’s educational curriculum.

Despite the increase the country’s children spend only an average of around 700 hours in school in contrast to 1,500 hours in other Latin American countries like Chile. Although children as young as three are eligible to attend preschool, children from ages 7 to 13 are required to attend school. The country has a 92% net primary school attendance rate and while public education is free the rate of dropouts is quite high.

Based on the United States federal report the nation’s university system is not yet adequate. The State University and the Catholic University were the only two universities of Paraguay until the 1990s. During this period the government established ten more new universities though the system is perceived to be not up to standards as compared to other Latin American countries. The national military academy in 2003 has for the first time admitted female cadets.

The literacy rate is estimated to be at 94% as of 2003 though the illiteracy rate is quite higher in rural than in the urban areas.