It is compulsory and free school for six years for
children aged 6-15. The elementary school is 6 years old,
and the secondary school is 6 years old. Almost all children
attend primary school, and 62% of them attend high school.
The country has one private and two state universities and a
number of private higher education institutions. About. 8%
of the adult population is illiterate (2001). See TOPSCHOOLSINTHEUSA for TOEFL, ACT, SAT testing locations and high school codes in Panama.

1964 Stronger requirements for control of the channel
"Our geographical location is our most important natural
resource," confirms the Panaman. In January 1964, 21
Panamanian students were killed as they tried to hoist their
country's flag in the Channel Zone, which is under North
American jurisdiction. The sacrifice of young people was
quickly made a national symbol of Panama. The desire to
bring the whole country under Panamanian control - including
the Channel Zone - was institutionalized by General Omar
Torrijos' takeover of power in 1969, when the military
triumvirate that overthrew President Arnulfo Arias in 1968
was overthrown. The diplomatic struggle for control of the
Channel Zone was waged in all international forums, and was
supported by Latin American countries, the Alliance Free
Countries Movement and the UN.
The struggle for control of the Channel Zone merged the
Panamanian people and created a national feeling that had
otherwise been dissolved over decades due to US cultural,
economic and military intrusions. In parallel, the Torrijos
government initiated social change, with the aim of creating
a more socially just society. The funds were land reform,
education system reform, the extraction of the country's
copper from national criteria and the "banana war" aimed at
obtaining fairer prices from international fruit companies
such as the North American UFCO (United Fruit Company).
The United States was forced to negotiate a new channel
agreement, because this particular issue hampered an
improvement in the reputation of the superpower among Latin
American countries. The 1977 Torrijos-Carter Channel
Agreement canceled the previous one. It stated that the
canal would be transferred to Panama in the year 2000. But
from the outset, the United States Senate broke the treaty
and made additions to the treaty to ensure that the
superpower was entitled to militarily intervene in Panama
even after the year 2000, «in defense of channel ".
On July 31, 1981, General Omar Torrijos died in an
unprecedented crash. Unverified versions say the aircraft's
instruments were dazzled by radio signals from the ground.
President Arístides Royo had succeeded Torrijos in the post
in 1978. He now lost support of the National Guard, was
forced by the garden's new commander, Rubén Paredes, to
resign, and Paredes now initiated a process of rapprochement
with the United States. But the role of superpower in
Malvinasthe April-May 1982 war and the creation of the
Contadora Group - which Panama was also a part of - further
aggravated relations between the two countries. The island
of Contadora had become famous when the United States
installed the Persian shah Reza Pahlevi here after it was
overthrown in 1979. The Contadora group was formed by a
number of countries to promote the peace process in Central
America - to the great regret of the United States.
In 1983, Paredes was replaced as commander of the
National Guard by General Manuel Noriega. The 1984
presidential and parliamentary elections were won by a
narrow margin by Nicolás Barletta. He was a candidate for
the Partido Revolucionario Democrático (Democratic
Revolutionary Party, PRD), which Torrijos had established
and which received support from the armed forces. The
opposition, led by old politician Arnulfo Arias, accused the
government of electoral fraud.
A growing opposition to Barletta's policy developed and
he retired in late 1985. He was succeeded by Eric del Valle,
but the country's strong man continued to be General
Noriega, and although initially on the CIA's payroll, he
eventually became so independent that the United States
wanted him overthrown. First of all, the superpower could
not forgive him for not being more willing to support the US
invasion of Nicaragua. The United States therefore initiated
intensive propaganda targeting Noriega. He was charged with
drug trafficking and other crimes. The opposition joined
forces in the Cruzada Civilista Nacional (National Civil
Crusade), which consisted of center-right parties and with
extensive support from the country's business owners. |