|Dominican Republic Table of Contents Formal education included
the primary, the secondary, and higher education levels. The
six-year primary cycle was compulsory. Three years of preschool
were offered in some areas, but not on a compulsory basis. There
were several types of secondary school; most students (90
percent) attended the sixyear liceo, which awarded the
bachillerato certificate upon completion and was geared toward
university admission. Other secondary programs included teacher
training schools, polytechnics, and vocational schools. All
primary and secondary schools were under the formal jurisdiction
of the Secretariat of State for Education and Culture
(Secretaria de Estado de Educación y Cultura). In 1984 there
were an estimated 5,684 primary schools and 1,664 secondary
schools. Despite the compulsory nature of primary education,
only 17 percent of rural schools offered all six grades. This
explained to some degree the lower levels of secondary
enrollment. For those who did go on to the secondary