By assigning public universities the responsibility of supervising private universities, Panama’s constitution assumes that public universities are intrinsically better than private universities and that public universities have the capacity to undertake this supervisory function appropriately.
Recent years have witnessed a boom in private education opportunities across the Central American isthmus. To some, it seems that private entities cannot open classrooms fast enough. Whereas 30 years ago there were virtually no private universities, today there are more than 151 and every year more emerge.
Los cinco mayores centros de estudio superior privados manejan matrículas por encima de los 4.500 estudiantes, cifras que van en aumento por la demanda que también han generado los extranjeros residentes en el país.