The Ministry of education is in charge of regulating and administrating the education of young people between the ages of 5 and 17. This education is divided into: preschool (under 5 years of age and not obligatory), basic education (6-13), middle school (14-17) and higher education. The Consejo Nacional de Educación (CNED) works in support of the Ministry’s education policy activities. Meanwhile, the Consejo Nacional de Acreditación (CNA) is responsible for the institutional accreditation procedure and accreditation of higher education study programmes.
