Caribbean Region : Access, Quality, and Efficiency in Education. A World Bank Country Study

This study explores education and training systems of the Caribbean nations that are members both of The World Bank and the Caribbean Group for Cooperation in Economic Development (CGCED). The study does not attempt to provide a detailed blueprint for each country or set of institutions or present new research findings. Overall, the emphasis is to highlight the commonality of education sector issues across the region and to discuss successful ongoing initiatives, as well as outline promising new policy and investment options meriting further exploration to enhance access to and the quality and efficiency of education. The "Caribbean Education Action Plan" summarizes the options. It is hoped that the report will catalyze further debate among governments and within the international development community on an appropriate human resources development strategy for the Caribbean for the 1990s and beyond. Three principal areas for further work include: (1) educational measurement and research to guide policy development; (2) the supply and distribution of educational materials; and (3) expansion of continuing education opportunities for all age groups. The report includes a foreword, an executive summary and recommendations, the proposed Caribbean education action plan, three annexes, a statistical appendix, a listing of 135 references and 47 other works consulted, and a map of the Caribbean region. (SG) The objective of this report is to focus attention on the performance, problems, needs and prospects of the fifteen Caribbean countries which are members of both the Caribbean Group for Cooperation in Economic Development and the World Bank. It provides an overview of overall developments affecting the Caribbean countries over the past fifteen years as well as progress achieved during this period. The efforts needed to accelerate the implementation of the reform agenda are examined focusing on the conditions needed to achieve macroeconomic stability, efforts needed to accelerate privatization, trade reform and domestic deregulation, and developments regarding the various preferential agreements which benefit the Caribbean countries. The paper examines the flow of resources to the Caribbean countries since 1978 and relates it to the process of adjustment and growth during this period and to the efforts required to strengthen this process during the 1990s. It also presents estimates of assistance needed during 1992-93. The report evaluates the stock of human resources, indicates the incidence of poverty, assesses the positive and negative factors affecting human resource development, regional policy options, and highlights the human resource development issues for the 1990s. The ecosystems in the Caribbean countries are also described This study explores education and training systems in the Caribbean nations that are members both of the World Bank and the Caribbean Group for Cooperation in Economic Development (CGCED) -- Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. The analysis focuses predominately on the English-speaking countries, but data on the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Suriname are included, as available, in the early chapters for comparative purposes. It is hoped that this report will catalyze further debate among governments and within the international development community on an appropriate human resources development strategy for the Caribbean for the 1990s and beyond.