The U.S. Office of Education has undertaken the preparation of a series of basic studies on education in a number of Central and South American countries under the sponsorship of the Interdepartmental Committee on Cultural and Scientific Cooperation. This series of studies is part of a program to promote understanding of educational conditions in the American countries and to encourage cooperation in the field of Inter-American education. The project, a part of a Government-wide program of cultural cooperation under the auspices of the Department of State, was begun in the fall of 1943. This document is based on data gathered by the author in Colombia in 1944 and supplemented since then through documentation. Its contents include: (1) The Country and Its People, providing an overview of the nation and its history from the colonial period through independence to today; (2) Colombia Goes to School, describing education during the colonial period and under the Republic from 1823 to today; (3) Kindergarten and Elementary Education, which introduces the nascent kindergarten movement, and describes elementary schools and their program of studies, private schools, evening schools and centers of literacy; (4) Secondary Education, covering control and administration of secondary school education as well as the school year, admission requirements and fees, students, curriculum, textbooks, libraries, equipment, excursions, vocational guidance, health service, parents' organizations, examination for the baccalaureate of secondary education, and a typical secondary school; (5) Vocational Education, which describes agricultural schools, commercial schools, industrial education, school of home economics, schools of fine arts, schools of religion, military and naval schools, and nursing education; (6) Training and Status of Teachers, comprising their preparation for elementary schools and high schools through normal schools and alternate credentialing, salaries and pensions, teacher preparation in special subjects such as physical education or music , in-service training, and teacher associations; (7) The National University, presenting the organization, faculties and staff, school year, requirements for admission, admission of foreign students and validation of foreign degrees, tuition and other costs, final examinations, and degrees and programs of study at the National University of Columbia; (8) Other Institutions of Higher Education, describing the five departmental and four private universities; (9) Agencies of Public and Pupil Welfare, summarizing the activities the Division of Cultural Extension in the National Ministry of Education and the National Library, and the limited options currently available for education of the handicapped; and (10) Some Conclusions and Implications regarding the development of the current education system, and trends and goals for the future of Colombian education. A bibliography is provided. (Contains 82 footnotes and 31 tables.) [Best copy available has been provided.]