Training

Schools in the Marshall Islands are run by both the state and church communities. The basic education is relatively well developed and the reading and writing skills are high.

However, teaching within the state school has been criticized for being substandard and for being an obstacle to the country’s development.

School duty applies to children between 6 and 18 years of age. Almost all children start school, while about one in five pupils finish primary school prematurely. Many students also do not follow the teaching regularly. This is partly because the school road can be long and poor, and partly because several schools charge a kind of registration fee.

• COUNTRYAAH: Country facts of Marshall Islands, including geography profile, population statistics, and business data.

The school system is based on the American with two stages, an eight-year elementary school and a four-year high school. Fewer than two-thirds of students go on to high school, often due to lack of space.

On the capital city of Majuro there is a general college, the College of the Marshall Islands. There is also a university in the country that specializes in education in the fishing industry and the shipping industry. The regional higher education institution, the University of the South Pacific, has a branch at Majuro.

• Andyeducation: Introduction to education system in Marshall Islands, including compulsory schooling and higher education.

FACTS – EDUCATION

Proportion of children starting primary school

77.1 percent (2016)

Number of pupils per teacher in primary school

17 (2002)

Reading and writing skills

98.3 percent (2011)

Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP

22.5 percent (2003)

Public expenditure on education as a percentage of the state budget

22.5 percent (2003)