Everything in San Jose makes clear that Costa Ricans are a highly literate people. Many of the country's early fathers like the first president, Jose Maria Castro, were former teachers who were concerned about the education in Costa Rica. In 1869, the country became one of the first in the world to make the education free and obligatory, funded by the state's share of the great coffee wealth. In those days only one in ten Costa Ricans could read and write. By 1920 the 50% of the population was literate and by 1970s 89% were able to read and write.

The last 20 years have seen a significant boosts to educational standards. Since the 70s the country has invested more than 28% of the national budget on primary and secondary education. President Figueres elected in 1994, advocates a computer in each of the nation's 4000 schools, plus obligatory English classes, probably with the technological and tourist industries boom of recent years.

Libraries are the only way for adults in rural areas to continue education beyond six grade. The country, with approximately 100 libraries, has a desperate need for books and for funds to support the hundreds of additional libraries that the country needs.

Elementary and High schools are to be found in every community. Students are not required to pay for assistance; a nominal charge of around $20 per year applies. Elementary school has 6 year levels; where as high school has 5 year levels. Each is divided in two cycles, and upon completion of each cycle, students are required to pass tests on all subjects studied during those years. The most notorious of these tests are the Bachillerato Tests, which are required to get the high school diploma needed for admission to Universities.

Although the country lacked a university until 1940, Costa Rica now boasts four state-funded universities and a score of small private ones, whose number has increased dramatically in the last decade, due to the difficulty of being admitted to state-funded, more prestigious universities. Opportunities abound for adults to earn the primary or secondary diplomas they failed to gain as children.

The University of Costa Rica (UCR), the largest and oldest university, enrolls some 35,000 students, mostly on scholarships, but even paying full tuition is not hard as it rarely surpasses $200 a semester. The main campus is in the northeastern San Jose community of San Pedro but the UCR also has regional centers in Alajuela, Turrialba, Puntarenas and Cartago. The National University in Heredia, offers a variety of liberal arts, sciences, and professional studies to 13,000 students. Cartago's Technical Institute of Costa Rica (ITCR) specializes in science and technology, and seeks to train people for agriculture, industry and mining. And the State Correspondence University, founded in 1978, is modeled after the United Kingdom's Open University and has 32 regional centers offering 15 degree courses in health, education, business administration, and the liberal arts.

In addition there are many private institutions like, the Autonomous University of Central America, the University for Peace, sponsored by the United Nations offering a master's degree in communications for Peace.

Costa Rica boasts about having more teachers than police men, and this affirmation is a source of great pride, since Ticos feel that their high education level sets them apart from many less fortunate countries in the world. Many of Costa Rica's rulers have been educators as well, and have placed great importance in the expansion of primary and secondary education, even in the most remote areas of the country. Thanks to these and to ongoing reforms, Costa Rica has a 94% literacy level.

Primary education lasts six years, while high school education might be five or six years, the first being academic and the latter technical or professional. At the end of high school, the student will receive a title in "Letras" (similar to "Arts") or in "Ciencias" ("Science). The system which I've described applies to all public schools, but there are also private grammar schools and high schools, which utilize an American or European system. The Ministerio de Educacion or Ministry of Education is responsible for regulating education in all of Costa Rica.

There are several articles in the Constitution of Costa Rica that assure the integrity of this system. Jose Maria Castro, the country's first elected president, was also a teacher, and because of his reforms and that of following presidents, in 1869 Costa Rica became the first country in the world where education became free and obligatory; this fact is expressed by Article 78 of the Constitution. Article 79 guarantees the freedom of education, meaning that educational institutions may confer grammar and high school degrees. Article 80 decrees that the government should stimulate private education; in reality the only encouragement that these institutions receive is through the elimination of import taxes of school supplies. Article 82 demonstrates the socialist tendency in many educational reforms of Costa Rica, since it forces the government to supply food and clothing to poor students. Furthermore, students in public schools have to wear the official uniform, in order to lessen social and economic distinctions between students. All of these articles and several others pretend the conservation of an institution that is considered to be sacred in Costa Rica.

Apart from public schools, there are many private schools, where more well-to-do families usually send their children. There are several North American schools, like Marian Baker School, Country Day School, International Christian School and several others. There is also the German school- Humboldt- the French school- Franco Costarricense- and the Japanese School- Escuela Japonesa. The explosion of private Costa Rican and foreign schools has lessened over-crowding in the public schools and has provided an alternate educational system for those who can afford it.

President Jose Maria Figueres (1994-1998) declared the teaching of English and Computer Science as mandatory in all of the nation's public schools. This implied the training of 500 teachers and a huge expense from the part of the government.