Education in Valle del Cauca, Colombia: official figures
The net enrolment rate from the transition year to upper secondary in Valle del Cauca was 75.8% in 2024, according to the Ministry of Education (6th lowest of 33), against 81.5% in 2019 and 88.3% in 2011.
How many teenagers in Valle del Cauca attend upper secondary school?
45.7% of young people of upper-secondary age (15 and 16) in Valle del Cauca were enrolled at that level in 2024 (15th lowest of 33); net enrolment was 65.0% in lower secondary and 54.5% in the transition year.
Source: Ministerio de Educacion Nacional (MEN) · saved copyWhat is the school dropout rate in Valle del Cauca?
4.8% of pupils in Valle del Cauca dropped out of school during the 2024 school year (9th highest of 33), against 5.2% in 2023. 7.5% failed their year and 8.8% were repeating a grade.
Source: Ministerio de Educacion Nacional (MEN) · saved copyHow do students in Valle del Cauca do in the Saber 11 exam?
Students at schools in Valle del Cauca averaged 247.9 out of 500 in the Saber 11 school-leaving exam in the 2022 calendar-A round (13th highest of 33; Colombia 250.1), against 242.8 in 2019. 39,360 students sat the exam there.
Source: Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluacion de la Educacion (ICFES) · saved copyHow good are maths results in Valle del Cauca?
In the 2022 Saber 11 exam, students at schools in Valle del Cauca averaged 49.6 out of 100 in mathematics (15th highest of 33; Colombia 50.6), 52.8 in critical reading (Colombia 52.8) and 49.3 in English (Colombia 49.9).
Source: Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluacion de la Educacion (ICFES) · saved copyWhat is the literacy rate in Valle del Cauca?
3.2% of people in Valle del Cauca lived in households with an adult aged 15 or over who could not read and write in 2025 (4th lowest of 33; Colombia 6.4%), and 33.2% in households whose adults averaged fewer than nine years of schooling (Colombia 36.8%).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow many children in Valle del Cauca are behind at school?
In 2025, 1.3% of people in Valle del Cauca lived in households with a child aged 6 to 16 not attending school (Colombia 1.8%), and 19.7% in households with a child aged 7 to 17 behind the normal grade for their age (Colombia 19.7%).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow Valle del Cauca compares with other departments
Net enrolment rate, transition to upper secondary (2024)
Valle del Cauca ranks 28 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Net enrolment rate, transition to upper secondary |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Putumayo | 80.0% |
| 26 | Caldas | 77.8% |
| 27 | Narino | 76.3% |
| 28 | Valle del Cauca | 75.8% |
| 29 | Amazonas | 74.8% |
| 30 | Guaviare | 74.1% |
| 31 | Guainia | 71.9% |
Net enrolment rate, upper secondary (2024)
Valle del Cauca ranks 19 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Net enrolment rate, upper secondary |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Norte de Santander | 47.9% |
| 17 | Sucre | 47.7% |
| 18 | Huila | 46.5% |
| 19 | Valle del Cauca | 45.7% |
| 20 | Magdalena | 44.1% |
| 21 | Narino | 41.9% |
| 22 | Cauca | 41.6% |
School dropout rate (2024)
Valle del Cauca ranks 9 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | School dropout rate |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Arauca | 5.3% |
| 7 | Amazonas | 5.1% |
| 8 | Cesar | 5.0% |
| 9 | Valle del Cauca | 4.8% |
| 10 | Guaviare | 4.8% |
| 11 | Quindio | 4.8% |
| 12 | Guainia | 4.7% |
Average Saber 11 score (0-500) (2022)
Valle del Cauca ranks 13 of 33, highest first. Calendar-A round, by department of the school
| Rank | Region | Average Saber 11 score (0-500) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Caldas | 253.1 |
| 11 | Meta | 252.9 |
| 12 | Narino | 248.1 |
| 13 | Valle del Cauca | 247.9 |
| 14 | Antioquia | 245.9 |
| 15 | Atlantico | 245.2 |
| 16 | Tolima | 244.6 |
More on Valle del Cauca: overview · economy and jobs · health · poverty and living standards · government budget · Colombia
Sources
- Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluacion de la Educacion (ICFES): Resultados unicos Saber 11: average scores and number of candidates by department of the school, rounds 2019-4 and 2022-4 (datos.gov.co API response, aggregated by the API from ICFES microdata), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f4b8bdc7c323…)
- Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE): Pobreza multidimensional, anexo departamental 2025 (Encuesta Nacional de Calidad de Vida): incidence by department and area, household deprivations by indicator, intensity and incidence by sex, 2018-2025 (updated 14 April 2026), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 73caab08046d…)
- Ministerio de Educacion Nacional (MEN): MEN_ESTADISTICAS_EN_EDUCACION_EN_PREESCOLAR, BASICA Y MEDIA_POR_DEPARTAMENTO, 2011-2024: net and gross enrolment coverage, dropout, failure and repetition rates by department (datos.gov.co API response), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 bac11bda6cae…)
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