Education in the Dominican Republic

There is both private and public education available in the Dominican Republic. The public systems provide one year of pre-school and Grade 1 to Grade 12 education. School is obligatory from pre-school until Grade 8. Private schools also provide Nursery and Kindergarten education. Public schooling is free but children are required to wear a uniform to attend and these are not provided free of charge. There are both public and private universities in the major cities and approximately 85% of the Dominican Republic is considered literate.