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. It involves travel by Office of Education specialists in the various countries for the purpose of gathering data first hand on their educational systems, and the preparation of reports from these data for publication. "Education in Peru" is based on data gathered by the author in Peru in 1944 and supplemented since through documentation. A bibliography is included. (Contains 16 tables, 1 chart, and 43 footnotes.) [Best copy available has been provided.]