Narayan AmmachchiThe Caribbean’s education system is in crisis, with recent studies showing a large majority of students struggling with mathematics, a fundamental skill in the modern world.
“We are confronting a crisis … in education,” warned Lilia Burunciuc, the World Bank’s country director for the Caribbean, during a recent webinar. Unless urgent action is taken, Burunciuc said, the region’s economic future could be at risk.
In the 2024 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate exams, only 4.9% of students passed five or more subjects, including Mathematics and English. Even more concerning, just 36% passed Mathematics.
But intelligence is not the problem. Caribbean students are just as capable as their global counterparts. The real issues, according to Victoria Levin, a senior economist in the World Bank’s education global practice, are outdated teaching methods and deep-rooted inequalities in educational access.
Colonial Legacy Still Shapes Education
The education system, shaped by colonial-era practices, still favors the privileged. Under colonial rule, elite schools were reserved for wealthy students. Today, private schools continue the tradition through selective entrance exams, a “sorting mechanism” as Levin describes it.
In Trinidad and Tobago, for example, the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) is a high-stakes exam for 11- to 13-year-olds seeking entry into public secondary schools. It is essentially a modern version of the British-era College Exhibition Examination, originally designed to limit access to education.
SEA heavily tests students in Mathematics and Creative Writing, and only top scorers secure places in the best schools. And this isn’t unique to Trinidad — Barbados, Jamaica, and other Caribbean nations follow similar models.
Even after rigorous selection, less than 80% of students pass English, and fewer than half succeed in Mathematics, Levin added.
Higher Education Thrives, Yet Early Education Suffers
Surprisingly, the Caribbean spends more on college education than on primary schooling.
“Higher education, especially through the University of the West Indies system, has made considerable improvements over the past decade,” said Scott MacDonald, a fellow at the Caribbean Policy Consortium, in a conversation with Nearshore Americas.
From his experience, graduates from these institutions are competent and well-prepared. However, many struggle due to weak foundational education.
For the region to advance, MacDonald insists, reform is essential. “Competition is global,” he warns. Without fixing the education system, the Caribbean risks falling further behind.
MacDonald, an expert in Caribbean economic issues, has taught political science in several institutions and authored books on the region’s development challenges.
Teachers Are Leaving in Large Numbers
For decades, the Caribbean has been losing teachers to better-paying countries. Jamaica alone lost 10% of its teacher workforce in just three years. In 2022, 1,538 teachers left in just nine months.
Some aren’t just leaving the country — they’re leaving the profession altogether.
“Some (teachers) are not migrating but leaving the profession (altogether) because they are overworked, underpaid, and undervalued,” said Dr. Garth Anderson, head of the Caribbean Teachers’ Union, at a 2023 conference in Barbados.
Even newly qualified teachers in the UK, Canada, and the U.S. earn two to three times more than those in Jamaica, St. Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad, according to a University of the West Indies study.
Beyond low wages, many Caribbean nations lack clear teacher recruitment and training standards. A World Bank and OECS study found that in many countries, teachers don’t receive full training until nearly a decade into their careers.
The entry requirements are shockingly low. In Grenada, for example, a person can become a teacher with just five subject passes. Until 2019, new teachers received only a two-week induction program—their only formal preparation before taking charge of a classroom.
Guyana’s Smart Classrooms: A Model for Change
While most of the Caribbean struggles with outdated education systems, one country is taking a bold step forward. Guyana, fueled by its booming oil wealth, is embracing the future.
In 2021, with support from the World Bank, Guyana introduced smart classrooms — equipping schools with smartboards, projectors, and laptops.
The impact has been remarkable. At Kuru Kururu Primary School, 38 kilometers south of Georgetown, attendance has improved dramatically. “The difference is clear — students are more engaged than ever,” the head teacher told the World Bank.
Teachers, too, are benefiting. With digital tools, they can refine their teaching methods and continuously improve. Before, lessons relied on static charts and worksheets. Thanks to the interactive way of learning, studying maths has become a joyful experience for students.
Encouraged by this success, Guyana announced a $676 million investment in late 2024 to expand smart classrooms nationwide.
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