Training
School duty applies to children in Jamaica
from the age of six to eleven years. The first stage is
free in the state schools as well as in some private
schools that receive state aid. Thereafter, schooling is
subject to fees.
After the first six years, three years follow, which
corresponds to high school and then a two-year high
school. Then there is another two years for those who
want to continue at the university level.
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COUNTRYAAH:
Country facts of Jamaica, including geography profile, population statistics, and business data.
Most 4- and 5-year-olds attend preschool, but it is
of low quality. Almost everyone starts in regular
school, but about a tenth does not complete the first
six-year stage. Dropouts are increasing in the higher
classes and absenteeism is often extensive at all
levels. Many go to classes and a lot of children, and
especially boys, leave school without learning to read
and write properly.
Absence is particularly common in rural areas and is
often due to the fact that the children help with work,
or that the families find it difficult to pay for
materials, transport and school lunches.
The proportion of children attending school has
increased since the state, with the support of the World
Bank in 2002, introduced a cash grant that is paid to
poor families towards the children attending school and
participating in health checks. The program has been
expanded and now includes a one-off grant for
post-secondary studies.
The University of West Indies (UWI), a collaboration
between English-speaking Commonwealth countries and
territories in the Caribbean, has a campus in Mona
outside Kingston. UWI in Mona was founded in 1948 and is
the oldest of the university's four campuses (one of
which is scattered on 16 islands).
At the college level there are also a handful of
other alternatives, among them a technical school, an
agricultural university and a teacher's college.
- Topmbadirectory: Offers information about politics, geography, and known people in Jamaica.
FACTS - EDUCATION
Proportion of children starting primary
school
91.5 percent (2004)
Number of pupils per teacher in primary
school
22 (2017)
Reading and writing skills
88.1 percent (2014)
Public expenditure on education as a
percentage of GDP
18.4 percent (2017)
Public expenditure on education as a
percentage of the state budget
18.4 percent (2017)
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