In Dominican Republic, education is free and compulsory at the elementary level, and free but non mandatory at secondary level. It is divided into four stages:
preschool education (Nivel Inicial);
primary education (Nivel Básico);
secondary education (Nivel Medio).
higher education (Nivel Superior).
School Grades
The school year in Dominican Republic begins in mid-August and classes are held from Monday to Friday. The school year consists of two terms, which are separated by Christmas holidays in winter season, and an eight-week-long summer break. The year structure is summarized in the table below.
| 3-4 | Maternal | Preschool Education (Nivel Inicial) |
Special School (Educación Especial) |
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| 4-5 | Kinder | ||||||
| 5-6 | Pre-primario | ||||||
| 6-7 | 1 | Elementary school (Nivel Básico) Compulsory Education |
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| 7-8 | 2 | ||||||
| 8-9 | 3 | ||||||
| 9-10 | 4 | ||||||
| 10-11 | 5 | ||||||
| 11-12 | 6 | ||||||
| 12-13 | 7 | ||||||
| 13-14 | 8 | ||||||
| 14-15 | 1 | High school / Secondary school (Nivel Medio, known popularly as Bachillerato) |
Institute of Technology (Politécnico) |
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| 15-16 | 2 | ||||||
| 16-17 | 3 | ||||||
| 17-18 | 4 | ||||||