The Education System of Panama

Abstract

With three million people, La República de Panamá occupies 30,000 square miles, bordered by Costa Rica and Colombia. It forms a bridge between Central and South America and is home to the Panama Canal. In 1821 the Independence Act of Panama declared this country’s independence from Spain and joined with the confederation of the Republic of Gran Colombia, which consisted of Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, and Ecuador. The country has had fragile independence, sometimes contentious ties to Colombia, and short-lived freedom rebellions, including the Panama crisis of 1885 and the United States intervention. The Thousand Day’s War propelled the country into political separation from Colombia. It fostered the negotiations for the construction and perpetual lease of the Panama Canal in exchange for military protection against Colombia. By November 1903, the United States formally recognized Panama as a sovereign nation and later signed the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty. This history serves as a foreground for the development of education in this country that advanced through three distinct periods. Education in Panama began in the colonial period under Spanish rule then evolved through a short Colombian occupation and the period of the free republic which lasted until today. The secondary data shows that this this country has made great strides in its education, but there is still room to address educational inequities that are rooted in socioeconomic conditions and rural urban divides.