MEP provides training, course calendars, and materials for public institutions. However, private institutions may follow their own course calendars with their own chosen materials. At the beginning of my Fulbright grant, I had the chance to work at a 3-week long training camp for English teachers working in MEP. I helped train over 60 teachers from all over the country, and in general I gathered that many teachers felt as though their public schools lacked funding and proper teacher-training programs,and they are actively working to raise these concerns to MEP. MEP teachers are known for coming together and protesting MEP policies and against the Costa Rican government. In the past, these protests have caused historic shutdowns of schools country-wide for weeks, even months at a time.
If students choose to, they may continue to higher education, completing courses related to certain carreras (majors), almost all of which are automatically complemented by required coursework in English. English education is highly valued here, but especially in higher education, with professors intending to shape students that are prepared to participate fully in the global job market. There are different types of higher education institutions in Costa Rica, as I mentioned earlier. The first of which would be a universidad (university) which carries the same connotation as it does in the U.S.
