Education in the Caribbean: Contributing to Sustainable Development Ryan Burgess Education Specialist

Caribbean context  Economy highly based on services (45%) especially tourism  Limited diversity in production  Tourism and financial industries expanding  Vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters  Negative effects from external shocks  Increasing levels of crime and violence  High levels of migration  Current priorities: poverty, unemployment, crime and education

Youth in the Caribbean  Over 60% of the population under 30  Youth unemployment rate over 30%  One of the highest rates of youth violence globally  Early initiation of sexual activities  High incidence of adolescent mothers (20% in DR & Jamaica)  High rate of HIV/AIDS  High levels of unattached youth (in Jamaica, 24% to 34% of youth unattached between 1998 – 2001)

Education in Caribbean  High enrollment  High levels of completion rates in primary  Education quality requires improvement  Average drop out rates increasing in secondary, especially boys  High repetition  Low pass rates at end of secondary  Low literacy and numeracy  Challenges in developing soft and life skills

IDB’s Education Strategy  Flagships:  Early Childhood Development  School to Work Transition  Teacher Quality  Concentration Areas:  ICT for Education  Numeracy and Literacy  Compensatory programs  Evaluation of education programs

Medium term strategy in Caribbean  Focus:  Literacy and numeracy  Non-cognitive skills (life skills)  Youth at risk  Technical and vocational education and training  Link between education and labor market  Teacher quality  ICT in education  Principles:  Maintain strong presence in Caribbean  Improve quality  Focus on results  Focus on regional and country frameworksregional

Expected outcomes  Stronger link between education and labor market  Improved cognitive and non-cognitive skills  Increased pass rates  Gains towards reaching MDGs  Eradicate poverty (increase employment)  Universal primary education  Lower incidence of HIV/AIDS  Gender equality  Health  Progress towards CSME and regional integration

Regional policies and priorities  All teachers with Bachelor degree in CARICOM  Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ)  Spanish as 2nd language  Youth Policy started at CARICOM  Increase Tertiary Education  Data collection and data use as cross-sectional issue