Market report Peru

Peruvian Education System

Education in Peru is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education. It is responsible for the national educational policy. According to the Constitution, education is compulsory and free of charge at public schools for the initial, primary and secondary level schooling. It is also free in public universities for students who are unable to pay tuition and have an adequate academic performance.

Education is offered at four levels:

• Primary
• Secondary
• Vocational and Technical
• University

Secondary education

Primary and secondary education combined take 11 years, with 6 years of primary education and 5 years of secondary education. Secondary education follows a national curriculum, set by the Ministry of Education.

The secondary education curriculum teaches the following subjects: mathematics, communication, English, the Arts, History, Geography, Economics, Social Studies and Social Skills, Religious studies, PE, Sciences.

Admission to higher education

Admission to higher education requires a secondary school qualification Certificado Oficial de Estudios de Educación Secundaria. Most universities also require a separate set of entrance examinations. Only 50 percent of test takers typically pass the examination. Many Peruvian students spend one to two years at university entrance exam schools, or academia to prepare.

Higher Education system

Higher education in Peru is offered by the country’s 140 universities; 51 of which are public and 89 private. University-level institutions also include many specialized art, music and religious institutions that are called conservatorio, instituto, and escuela superior.

Peru follows the traditional Bachelor, Master, PHD system.

Public universities are free of charge. The best universities, however, charge hefty tuition fees. Language of instruction in Spanish. Some programs are taught in English.

Bachelor/Bachiller/Licenciado/Título Profesional/Ingeniero
Initial study programs leading to the Bachiller degree last at least 10 semesters (200 credits).
There are specialist advanced programs, with a minimum of 24 credits (half a year). These do not lead to an academic degree and/or professional qualification.

Master/Maestria
Admission to this stage requires a Bachiller degree. These programs take 1 or 2 years to complete, with a minimum of 48 credits. There is a distinction between a maestría de especialización (professional master’s program) and a maestría de investigación o académicas (research-oriented master’s program).

Doctorado
Admission to a doctorate program is thru a Maestria degree. A doctoral program takes at least 6 semesters to complete. Recipients of the Doctorado degree must be proficient in 2 foreign languages.
(Source: Nuffic)