BRIEFS. Education

English a requirement for 2008 grads

Beginning this year, students at Panamanian universities will be required to speak English in order to graduate.

This is the result of a 2003 law that required English to be taught at the university level. Now that five years have passed since the law's approval, the government said proper programs should be in place to teach the language.

The University of Panama will begin testing students to ensure that they can speak English, officials said. The university has started buying software for use in English programs that will be available to students at a low cost.

But educators have their work cut out for them. A survey of 29,000 high school students showed that 70 percent are deficient in speaking English.