Less than 15% of secondary school graduates seek post-secondary education - Report

Less than 15% of secondary school graduates seek post-secondary education – Report

Sep 29, 2013 News

– rate of unemployment has quadrupled

By Rabindra Rooplall
Caribbean countries have taken significant strides to increase enrollment in primary and secondary education and have allocated considerable public resources to the education sector. However, less than 15 per cent of secondary school graduates seek post-secondary education, according to a recent 2013 Caribbean Knowledge Series World Bank report.
The report cited Guyana among Caribbean countries that achieved near universal enrollment at the primary and secondary level. Other countries include Aruba, Belize, Barbados and Grenada. However, access to higher education remains low with less than fifteen percent of secondary school graduates going on to post-secondary education.
Even more worrisome, are the reports of poor student Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) performance on test items that require critical thinking, analysis or communication. Despite having received up to 11 years of formal education, school leavers often struggle greatly to find employment. This fact is most pronounced amongst the youth cohort – inclusive of 15 to 29 years olds – where the rate of unemployment is double to quadruple that of adults in the region.
The report added that enhancing education quality, skills and labour productivity requires robust data collection systems. Accurate, comprehensive and timely data are required to promote effective policymaking.
As such, the report noted that currently, data is insufficient to effectively assess the skills gaps and inform policy makers and private sector partners as they work to enhance the education system. More information is required regarding the depth of the skills mismatch and the factors contributing to it.
As the Caribbean economies continue to evolve, accurate employment surveys and administrative data are needed to identify the industries of the future and the skill sets and expertise that will be required to fill these jobs.
For many years the focus of the international education community was on ensuring access to and duration of studies, however, the report further cited that Caribbean countries perform well on these dimensions.
“Since 1960 the average years of educational attainment of the adult population has increased from 4.3 to 10.3, a rate today that is comparable with the South American average and approaching the average of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.”
Despite the high level of investment, the report stated that the quality of education in the Caribbean remains low. In this dimension, Caribbean countries have significant room for improvement. The average pass rates for standardized tests in core subjects such as English and Mathematics are less than 50 percent, and many students lack basic skills in information and from a formal education standpoint, these less than satisfactory outcomes point to systemic issues at each level of the education system.
“Quickly evolving skills demands require new responses from training and education systems alike. Addressing the skills gap is a priority. The sectoral shift experienced by Caribbean countries, together with the digitization of business processes and production technology, has rendered many repetitive, manual jobs obsolete, while increasing the profile for jobs that require non-routine skills.”
“As work places continue to be transformed, employees will require constant skill upgrading. All types of businesses and organizations are tasked with recruiting employees and upgrading their skills in line with their operational needs. This is a cost that employers must manage in order to be competitive in a global economy. The absence of the required skills and competencies amongst employees has resulted in high costs to employers and under training of employees.”
The Caribbean Knowledge Series World Bank report is an occasional series that presents World Bank knowledge in an accessible format. It is meant to assist knowledge sharing.