Commonwealth LAC - Supraregion report

by Paul Bacsich, Sero

For entities in Commonwealth LAC see Category:Commonwealth LAC

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.

Polytechnics in Commonwealth LAC

Tertiary-level institutions other than universities include:

1. Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic
2. University College of Cayman Islands
3. Cyril Potter College of Education - Guyana
4. Caribbean Graduate School of Theology
5. University College of the Caribbean - Jamaica
6. Moneague Teachers’ College - Jamaica
7. St. Josephs Teachers’ College - Jamaica
8. St. Michaels Theological College - Jamaica
9. West Indies School of Theology - Trinidad and Tobago

Colleges in Commonwealth LAC

An incomplete list of colleges that appear to be known beyond their base island includes:

1. Antigua State College
2. College of Bahamas
3. Barbados Community College
4. Barbados Institute of Management and Productivity
5. Codrington College Codrington - Barbados
6. Bermuda College
7. H. Lavity Stoutt Community College - BVI
8. Cayman Institute of Technology
9. Dominica State College
10. T.A. Marryshaw Community College - Grenada.com
11. Cyril Potter College of Education - Guyana
12. Guyana School of Agriculture
13. Bethlehem Community College - Jamaica
14. Browns Town Community College - Jamaica
15. Caribbean Maritime Institute - Jamaica
16. College of Agriculture, Science and Education - Jamaica.jm
17. Edna Manley College - Jamaica
18. Excelsior Community College
19. University College of the Caribbean - Jamaica
20. Jamaica Theological Seminary
21. Knox Community College - Jamaica
22. Moneague Teachers’ College - Jamaica
23. Montego Bay Community College - Jamaica
24. Montserrat Community College
25. Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College – St Kitts
26. Sir Arthur Lewis Community College – St Lucia
27. St. Vincent Community College – St Vincent
28. St. Vincent Technical College
29. Cipriani College of Labour & Cooperative Studies – Trinidad and Tobago
30. College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago ( COSTAATT)
31. The Professional Institute of Marketing & Business Srudies (PIMBS) - Trinidad and Tobago
32. Trinidad & Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute
33. Turks and Caicos Islands Community College

Education reform

Post-secondary

A number of initiatives have taken place, sometimes under the instigation of UWI, to build up the capability of Caribbean universities to complete with non-Caribbean institutions for Caribbean students.

There is still much concern about the sector. See for example "Perspectives on Higher Education in the Anglophone Caribbean" in Higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2008; 2009, http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001917/191721e.pdf. The paper starts uncompromisingly with stating that all words in its title are contestable:

Neither HE nor the ‘Anglophone Caribbean’ is easy to define. What constitutes the tertiary sector of an education system may vary considerably from country to country.

The authors are uncompromising in their views:

Harvey and Marrett (2008) estimate that there are now ‘close to 30 non-Spanish - speaking

universities (after Austin and Marrett, 2002). They continue:

Since 2002 the region has seen a trend towards the establishment (actual or planned) of other universities, both public and private, largely through the amalgamation of existing tertiary institutions. Another trend over the past 20 or so years is the establishment of offshore universities in a number of Caribbean countries, some of which are accessible to Caribbean citizens ( p.301).

How many of these new institutions really qualify by normal international standards for the title of ‘university’ is open to question.

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
2. Higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2008; 2009, http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001917/191721e.pdf

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