Back To School As School
Year Begins Today
Almost 1 million public
education students head
back to classes to today
as the 2008 school year
begins in every corner
of the country. Some of
the 962.000 students
will in their class this
morning, while others in
the afternoon and the
rest at night.
The 2008 school year is
comprised of 205 days,
running to December 17,
breaking for Semana
Santa (Easter week) and
mid year break between
July 7 and 18.
The students will be
responsibility of some
45.000 teachers hired by
the Ministerio de
Educación Pública (MEP).
This year the MEP has 30
new schools open for
students to attend,
however, a number of
classes, particularly in
rural areas, are still
being given in community
centres, churches in
some cases under the
open skies.
Although the MEP has put
forward its best
efforts, some 12.600
students will not have a
desk to sit at as the
MEP does not have the
¢176.400.000 million
colones (us$356.000) to
buy the desks that cost
¢14.000 colones
(us$23.50) each.
Last week the MEP
provided 88.000 grants
of ¢9.000 colones each
to grade school students
and another 43.000 to
secondary school
students of between
¢15.000 and ¢50.000
each. In addition, the
MEP will be paying for
public transportation of
some 60.000 secondary
school students around
the country and will be
feeding some 600.000
students at lunch school
lunch counters.
The school year in
numbers:
Students: 962.519
Missing desks: 12.600
Missing classes: 4.681
Teachers: 45.537
Source: MEP
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