The education area has grown explosively at all levels since the early 1960s. By 1987 primary-school enrollment had more than doubled, secondary-school enrollment had grown sixfold, and university enrollments had increased fifteen times. The literacy rate was around 89 % in 1987. Private schools accounted for 15 % of the enrollments at the primary level, 40 % at the secondary-school level, and 60 % at the university level. But the principal reason for the rapid development of the education system was the massive increase in public outlays for education.

Government funding for education increased fivefold in real terms between 1966 and 1986. In 1987 federal education expenditures described between a quarter and a third of the national budget. The nation's rapid urbanization fostered the overall development of education from the 1960s through the late 1980s. Various modifications in national legislation regulating education increased national government responsibility in education financing. In addition, mechanisms for revenue-sharing between the regions and the national government were developed. contempt considerable progress, major disparities in education quality persisted among social classes and regions, as well as between the public and private sectors and between rural and urban areas.

Elementary education is free and compulsory for five years. Much effort has been devoted to eliminating illiteracy, and 97 % of all Colombians over age 15 could read and write by 2001. Courses in Roman Catholicism are compulsory in all public schools, most of which are controlled by the Roman Catholic Church. Protestant churches maintain a number of schools, chiefly in Bogotá. The national government finances secondary- and university-level schools and maintains primary schools in municipalities and departments that cannot afford to do so. In 1996 some 4.9 million pupils annually attended primary schools; 3.3 million students attended secondary schools, including vocational and teacher-training institutions. In the late 1980s Colombia had about 235 institutions of higher education; total enrollment in 1996 was 644,200. Among the largest universities are the National University of Colombia (1867) in Bogotá, the University of Cartagena (1827) in Cartagena, the University of Antioquia (1822) in Medellín, and the University of Nariño (1827) in Pasto.