page_title: State school
section_title: Latin America
hierarchical_section_title: State school / By country and region / Latin America
caption_attribution_description: Español: (ex) Colegio Nacional, Bragado, Buenos Aires Province.
context_page_description: State schools, called public schools in North America and many other countries, are generally primary or secondary schools mandated for or offered to all children without charge, funded in whole or in part by taxation.
  While such schools are to be found in virtually every country, there are significant variations in their structure and educational programs. State education generally encompasses primary and secondary education, as well as post-secondary educational institutions such as universities, colleges, and technical schools that are funded and overseen by government rather than by private entities. The position before there were government-funded schools varied: in many instances there was an established educational system which served a significant, albeit often elite, sector of the population; these systems were often funded by religious institutions. The introduction of government-organised schools was in some cases able to build upon this established system, and often both systems have continued to exist, sometimes in a parallel and complementary relationship and other times less harmoniously.
context_section_description: In some countries, such as Brazil and Mexico, the term "public schools" (escuelas públicas in Spanish, escolas públicas in Portuguese) is used for educational institutions owned by the federal, state, or city governments which do not charge tuition. Such schools exist in all levels of education, from the very beginning through post-secondary studies.  Mexico has nine years of free and compulsory primary and secondary education. 
  Panama has 11 years of compulsory education, from Pre-kindergarten to 9th grade, with children first entering at 4 or 5 years old and parents are required by law to give financial support to their children until they are 25 years old if they are studying. In Panama, it is very common for students to complete 18 years of education, from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade in high school, with an additional 4 years in university, followed by a thesis, which can take another 3 years or more, as the thesis is thoroughly checked for quality, spelling, grammar, content and length before being summited for review by a professor.
  Education in Argentina is a responsibility shared by the national government, the provinces and federal district and private institutions, though basic guidelines have historically been set by the Ministry of Education. Closely associated in Argentina with President Domingo Sarmiento's assertion that "the sovereign should be educated" ("sovereign" referring to the people), education has been extended nearly universally and its maintenance remains central to political and cultural debate. Even though education at all levels, including universities, has always been free, there is a large number of private schools and universities.
caption: Secondary School in the pampas city of Bragado. Argentina's secondary schools belong to a provincial system.
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