Ministry

Ministry of Public Education

live

pilots

planned

Executive summary

Runs a formal 3-year curriculum on machine learning, ethics and legal aspects of AI, launched in four vocational schools in 2023 with an expansion target. It is complemented by the country’s largest mass AI training program: 90,000 teacher scholarships launched with CENECOOP in April 2026, targeting 65,000 trained teachers to reach 1M+ students. It published the Teacher AI Guide with ULACIT, UNESCO and the UN system.

AI projects (1)

AI technical specialization (MEP + Intel)

Live

3-year curriculum on machine learning, ethics and legal aspects of AI. Started in 4 vocational schools (Santa Ana, Puriscal, Coronado, Calle Blancos).

Live since: 2023

Adoption lessons

The program shows Costa Rica can sustain a regional milestone with very little dedicated public budget, leaning on private (Intel) and multilateral (UNESCO, UN) partnerships. The fragility is that sustainability depends on the partner: if Intel scales back its local presence, the curriculum needs a new anchor.