Financing for equity in higher education

1. Education resources to subnational governments

Introduction

Key financing indicators (UIS Data)

In 2019, for tertiary education, the gross enrolment ratio for tertiary education for both sexes was 55.02%. In 2021, the initial government funding per tertiary student as a percentage of GDP per capita was 54.50%. There is no recent data regarding the initial household funding per tertiary student as a percentage of GDP per capita.

Tuition-free status

Although the Constitution does not explicitly declare public higher education to be tuition-free, it does establish a robust framework for state funding and facilitates access for those who lack financial resources. Article 78 of the Constitution establishes that public spending on state education, including higher education, shall not be less than 5% of annual GDP. Article 85 states that the State should provide assets and revenues to various universities and maintain a special fund to finance State Higher Education, administered by the Central Bank, with revenues that should not be abolished or reduced without simultaneous improvements.

Governance

The public higher education system in Costa Rica comprises five universities grouped under a coordinating body, the National Council of Rectors (Conare), created through the Agreement on Coordination of State University Higher Education in Costa Rica signed by these institutions. Conare, composed of the rectors of the signatory universities, distributes the income allocated to state university higher education according to the criteria set out in Chapter III of the coordination agreement and an annual negotiation, while each institution separately receives its legally entitled revenues.

Article 85 of the Constitution establishes that the State shall provide the University of Costa Rica, the Technological Institute of Costa Rica, the National University, and the State Distance University with their own assets and shall create their own revenues, independent of those generated by these institutions. It also mandates the maintenance of a special fund for the financing of state higher education.

1. Education resources to subnational governments

2. Education resources to institutions

Funding for private universities in the absence of public institutions

No funding for private universities when no public university is available has been identified.

Allocation and equity

The allocation of government subsidies to public higher education institutions in Costa Rica operates through a centralised and technical system based on the Special Fund for Higher Education (FEES).

In addition to fees, universities have other decentralised income sources, as stipulated in the Constitution (Articles 84 and 85), which grants them independence in the performance of their functions and confers full legal capacity to acquire rights and enter into contractual obligations (for example, funds are transferred from the Fundo Costarriquenho de Seguridade Social to public universities for public health services).

3. Education resources to students

Admission for vulnerable groups

There are specific admission criteria for vulnerable groups through university-specific equity and inclusion strategies, such as those implemented by the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), which use special mechanisms to admit students from secondary schools with low ordinary admissions, thereby increasing opportunities for underserved communities. This includes the Five-Year Plan for Indigenous Peoples and Territories and the Five-Year Plan for the Inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in Public Higher Education.

Scholarships, grants and loans for vulnerable groups

The Dirección de Programas de Equidad (Equity Programmes Directorate) is the technical body responsible for reducing the opportunity gap in the Costa Rican education system, ensuring access and retention for low-income students through the comprehensive management of the MEP's various social programmes. For instance, they have a Scholarship Unit that runs the Postsecondary Scholarship Programme, which promotes retention and improves access to higher education for students in extreme poverty and vulnerable situations by awarding financial aid to cover tuition and course fees at public and private universities and colleges nationwide.

Additionally, university-specific equity and inclusion units, such as the Office of Scholarships and Socioeconomic Support (OBAS) from the UCR which provides socioeconomic, activity-related, external and complementary scholarships. Most public Universities also facilitate internship scholarships, which assign economic subsidies to students collaborating in research, teaching or administrative institutional duties. This benefit includes a tuition fee- exemption.

The National Commission for Educational Loans (CONAPE) was established as a financial institution responsible for enabling access to higher education for as many Costa Ricans as possible through loans with interest rates lower than those prevailing in the financial market. These loans must be granted taking into account the personal merit and socioeconomic conditions of the beneficiaries, giving special preference to students from rural areas, as established in Article 2, paragraph a) of its founding law, No. 6041, amended by Law No. 6495 of September 25, 1980. Thus, through CONAPE, the Costa Rican State seeks to fulfil its constitutional obligation to facilitate access to higher education for the lowest-income sectors of the population.

4. Support for students’ living costs

Transportation

Support for student transportation is offered through university-specific programmes, such as accessible transportation reserved for special needs students at the UCR.

Accommodation

Support for student transportation is offered through university-specific programmes, such as the Student Residence Programme which offers low-cost accommodation for scholarship recipients from remote areas who cannot commute daily for classes, providing them a place to stay during the academic year. If no places are available, public universities provide a monthly stipend to help students rent accommodation near their campus. This benefit is available if students must travel more than 60km and includes nutritional complementary deposits based on each student's semester schedule.

Textbooks

No support for purchasing student textbooks has been identified.

This profile has been reviewed by Jose Mario Achoy Sánchez, Researcher.

Last modified:

Fri, 27/02/2026 - 15:07