Commonwealth LAC - Supraregion report

first draft by Paul Bacsich, Sero

Partners and Experts in Commonwealth LAC

There are no Re.ViCa or VISCED partners in the region.

There are no current members of IAC in the region - this issue needs attention --pbacsich 12:24, 12 August 2011 (CEST)

Countries in Commonwealth LAC

The material here is adapted from Commonwealth LAC.

Commonwealth LAC consists of all those countries in the Caribbean (and adjacent regions of Central America and South America) which are either members of the Commonwealth of Nations or British overseas territories of the UK.

Commonwealth members in LAC

These are also all full members of CARICOM:

1. Antigua and Barbuda
2. Jamaica
3. St Lucia
4. St Vincent and the Grenadines
5. The Bahamas - east of the Caribbean
6. Barbados
7. Belize - in Central America
8. Dominica
9. Trinidad and Tobago
10. Grenada
11. Guyana - in South America
12. St Kitts and Nevis

Realm of the UK - British Overseas Territories

These are all Associate Members of CARICOM:

1. Anguilla
2. Bermuda - out east of the Caribbean
3. British Virgin Islands
4. Cayman Islands
5. Falkland Islands - east of South America
6. Montserrat - full member of CARICOM
7. Turks and Caicos Islands

Education in Commonwealth LAC

The countries of Commonwealth LAC have all maintained many aspects of the British educational system, in the context of efforts to respond to the specific needs of the Caribbean culture and people.

As in most of the world the Education System is divided into four tiers:

• Early Childhood (Pre-primary) Education

1. Primary Education
2. Secondary Education
3. Tertiary Education

Special Needs Education and Adult Education are also seen as important.

Schools in Commonwealth LAC

Most countries have compulsory primary level education. This is generally offered free of charge in the public schools.

(In contrast, in the Dutch-speaking Caribbean, both private and public schools are subsidised by the government provided that they comply with the legal requirements for establishing schools.)

Primary schools

In most countries children enter primary school at 5 (Guyana, Jamaica and Turks and Caicos: 6). This phase typically lasts 7 years, 6 in some countries, and 8 in Belize.

Secondary schools

The typical entrance age is 12 (but 11 in Bahamas and Cayman, 13 in Belize).

Secondary school normally lasts 4-7 years until typically age 17 - but 18 and even 19 in some countries.

The lower level of exit qualification is Caribbean Examinations Council Secondary Education Certificate (CXC-SEC) or the English-style GCE O Level.

Many countries offer in some schools a Sixth Form providing two years of tertiary level education leading to qualifications for university entrance. At these schools the exit qualification is the English-style GCE A Level or the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) certificate.

Other secondary schools offer technical and vocational education. The exit qualification is typically City & Guilds of London Institute, London Chamber of Commerce, Royal Society of Arts, etc.

Further and Higher education

There are very few full-status universities in the supraregion.

Universities in Commonwealth LAC

The main institutions seem to be:

1. University of the West Indies - a large, multi-campus and distance teaching university
2. The University of Belize
3. St. Georges University - Grenada (but largely a medical school for US students)
4. University of Guyana
5. North Caribbean University, Jamaica
6. University of Technology, Jamaica
7. University of Trinidad and Tobago

Thus most of the island countries do not have their own university. However, since there are only two countries with population over 1 million (Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago) and only a further five with population over 100,000 (Bahamas, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada), this is not surprising.

Administration and finance

There is a comprehensive directory of Ministries of Education at http://www.educationcaribbean.com/directory/ministries.asp

Schools

Primary education is normally free (except in private schools).

Information society

In most countries less than 10% of the population has access to computers and a fraction of that number have access to the Internet.

ICT in education initiatives

Several countries have been undertaking education reform exercises geared at preparing their citizens for the 21st century and competition in the global workplace. As elsewhere, the main characteristics of the process have included curriculum reform, changes to the teaching methodology and assessment processes, with technology serving as a catalyst for change. See the separate country reports.

References

1. Trends in ICT for Education in the Caribbean, http://www.educationcaribbean.com/ict4e/trends.asp

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