Jamaica Education Stats
Author: chris.lockyer781
The Jamaican education system is firmly entrenched on the premise that every child can learn, every child must. The country’s education system formally starts with what is known as the Basic school at age 3 but sometimes as early as age 2. The first recognized basic school in Jamaica, was started by the Rev. Henry Ward, in Islington, in the north eastern parish of St. Mary in the late 1930s. The school still exists as the Islington Early Childhood Institute.
Primary school attendance is mandatory for all students between the ages of 6 and 12 or grades one to six. A literacy and numeracy test is given at grade four and the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) is administered at the end of primary education. This test helps to filter students into secondary education.
Secondary school attendance is provided for students between the ages of 12 and 19 or grade 7 to 13. Following the completion of a mandatory 5 years up to grade 11, students have the option of moving on to grades 12 and 13 or sixth form as it is more commonly called. Matriculation to the sixth form usually requires passes in 5 or more subjects in the external examinations called Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate or CSEC for short. Those who do not matriculate often take up skills training in the national training agency called Human Employment and Resource Training – HEART.
Over the last decade, a plethora of opportunities have emerged for young people to benefit from tertiary training and more significantly, associate and undergraduate degrees.
However, there are three main universities, the University of the West Indies, the University of Technology and the Seventh Day Adventist run Northern Caribbean University. There are also seven colleges dedicated to the training of teachers.
Definitions
- Adult literacy rate > Female: Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life."
- Adult literacy rate > Total: Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life."
- Average IQ: Average IQ of different countries according to the controversial book "IQ and the Wealth of Nations".
- Average years of schooling of adults: Average years of schooling of adults is the years of formal schooling received, on average, by adults over age 15. (Data Source: Barro-Lee Data Set www.worldbank.org/html/prdmg/grthweb/ddbarle2.htm)
- Child care (preschool) > Duration: Number of years students study at the pre-primary (preschool) level. It should be noted that not all countries require pre-primary education.
- Child care (preschool) > Starting age: Average age at which students begin pre-primary (preschool) education.
- Child care (preschool) > Students per teacher: Number of students per teacher for pre-primary (preschool) education.
- Children out of school > Primary: Children out of school are the number of primary-school-age children not enrolled in primary or secondary school.
- Children out of school, primary: Children out of school, primary. Out-of-school children of primary school age. Total is the total number of primary-school-age children who are not enrolled in either primary or secondary schools.
- Children out of school, primary per 1000: Children out of school, primary. Out-of-school children of primary school age. Total is the total number of primary-school-age children who are not enrolled in either primary or secondary schools. Figures expressed per thousand population for the same year.
- Children out of school, primary, female: Children out of school, primary, female. Out-of-school children of primary school age. Female is the total number of female primary-school-age children who are not enrolled in either primary or secondary schools.
- Children out of school, primary, female per 1000: Children out of school, primary, female. Out-of-school children of primary school age. Female is the total number of female primary-school-age children who are not enrolled in either primary or secondary schools. Figures expressed per thousand population for the same year.
- Children out of school, primary, male: Children out of school, primary, male. Out-of-school children of primary school age. Male is the total number of male primary-school-age children who are not enrolled in either primary or secondary schools.
- Children out of school, primary, male per 1000: Children out of school, primary, male. Out-of-school children of primary school age. Male is the total number of male primary-school-age children who are not enrolled in either primary or secondary schools. Figures expressed per thousand population for the same year.
- College and university > Gender parity index: Country's gender parity index for college and university enrollment. For countries with a rating of over 1, more females are enrolled while countries with a rating under 1 have more males enrolled.
- College and university > Gender ratio: Ratio of female to male tertiary enrollment is the percentage of men to women enrolled at tertiary level in public and private schools.
- College and university > Private school share: Percentage of post-secondary students who attend a private school, college, or university.
- College and university > Share of total education spending: Percentage of government education funding that goes to post-secondary education.
- College and university > Teachers > Proportion of teachers female: Percentage of country's college and university professors that are female.
- Compulsary education duration: Number of years students are required to be enrolled in school for all levels of education. For instance, compulsary education lasts for 12 years in the United States.
- Compulsary education starting age: Age at which children must be enrolled in school.
- Duration of compulsory education: Duration of compulsory education is the number of grades (or years) that a child must legally be enrolled in school.
- Education enrolment by level > Tertiary level > Per capita: Per capita figures expressed per 1,000 population.
- Education enrolment by level > Tertiary level per 1000: . Figures expressed per thousand population for the same year.
- Elementary (primary school) > Duration: Number of years students study at the primary level.
- Elementary (primary school) > Starting age: Average age at which students begin primary education.
- Elementary school graduate rate: Persistence to last grade of primary is the percentage of children enrolled in the first grade of primary school who eventually reach the last grade of primary education. The estimate is based on the reconstructed cohort method.
- Government spending on education > Proportion of GDP: Percentage of public funding for education out of country's total GDP.
- High school > Gender parity index: Country's gender parity index for secondary level enrollment. For countries with a rating of over 1, more females are enrolled while countries with a rating under 1 have more males enrolled.
- High school > Gender ratio: Ratio of female to male secondary enrollment is the percentage of girls to boys enrolled at secondary level in public and private schools.
- High school > Lower secondary school duration: Number of years students study at the lower secondary (middle school) level.
- High school > Population with at least high school education > Women: Population with at least high school education > Women.
- High school > Private school share: Percentage of secondary students who attend a private school.
- High school > Students per teacher: Number of students per teacher for all levels of secondary education.
- High school > Upper secondary school duration: Number of years students study at the upper secondary (high school) level.
- High school enrolment rate: Progression to secondary school refers to the number of new entrants to the first grade of secondary school in a given year as a percentage of the number of students enrolled in the final grade of primary school in the previous year.
- High school repeaters > Male: Repeaters in secondary school are the number of students enrolled in the same grade as in the previous year, as a percentage of all students enrolled in secondary school."
- High school starting age > Years: Secondary school starting age is the age at which students would enter secondary education, assuming they had started at the official entrance age for the lowest level of education, had studied full-time throughout and had progressed through the system without repeating or skipping a grade."
- Literacy > Adult literacy: Adult literacy rate (%).
- Literacy > Definition: This entry includes a definition of literacy and Census Bureau percentages for the total population, males, and females. There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most common definition - the ability to read and write at a specified age. Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of our source. Information on literacy, while not a perfect measure of educational results, is probably the most easily available and valid for international comparisons.
- Literacy > Female: This entry includes a definition of literacy and Census Bureau percentages for the total population, males, and females. There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most common definition - the ability to read and write at a specified age. Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of our source. Information on literacy, while not a perfect measure of educational results, is probably the most easily available and valid for international comparisons.
- Literacy > Male: This entry includes a definition of literacy and Census Bureau percentages for the total population, males, and females. There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most common definition - the ability to read and write at a specified age. Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of our source. Information on literacy, while not a perfect measure of educational results, is probably the most easily available and valid for international comparisons.
- Literacy > Total population: This entry includes a definition of literacy and Census Bureau percentages for the total population, males, and females. There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most common definition - the ability to read and write at a specified age. Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of our source. Information on literacy, while not a perfect measure of educational results, is probably the most easily available and valid for international comparisons.
- Literacy rate > People aged 15-24: Youth literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15-24 who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life."
- Preschool enrollment rate: Gross enrollment ratio is the ratio of total enrollment, regardless of age, to the population of the age group that officially corresponds to the level of education shown. Primary education provides children with basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills along with an elementary understanding of such subjects as history, geography, natural science, social science, art, and music."
- Primary education > Teachers > Per capita: Primary education teachers includes full-time and part-time teachers. Per capita figures expressed per 1,000 population.
- Primary education, duration > Years: Primary education, duration (years). Duration of primary is the number of grades (years) in primary education.
- Primary education, pupils: Primary education, pupils. Enrolment in primary. Public and private. All programmes. Total is the total number of students enrolled in public and private primary education institutions.
- Primary education, pupils per 1000: Primary education, pupils. Enrolment in primary. Public and private. All programmes. Total is the total number of students enrolled in public and private primary education institutions. Figures expressed per thousand population for the same year.
- Primary education, teachers: Primary education, teachers. Teaching staff in primary. Public and private. Full and part-time. All programmes. Total is the total number of teachers in public and private primary education institutions. Teachers are persons employed full time or part time in an official capacity to guide and direct the learning experience of pupils and students, irrespective of their qualifications or the delivery mechanism, i.e. face-to-face and/or at a distance. This definition excludes educational personnel who have no active teaching duties (e.g. headmasters, headmistresses or principals who do not teach) and persons who work occasionally or in a voluntary capacity in educational institutions.
- Primary education, teachers per 1000: Primary education, teachers. Teaching staff in primary. Public and private. Full and part-time. All programmes. Total is the total number of teachers in public and private primary education institutions. Teachers are persons employed full time or part time in an official capacity to guide and direct the learning experience of pupils and students, irrespective of their qualifications or the delivery mechanism, i.e. face-to-face and/or at a distance. This definition excludes educational personnel who have no active teaching duties (e.g. headmasters, headmistresses or principals who do not teach) and persons who work occasionally or in a voluntary capacity in educational institutions. Figures expressed per thousand population for the same year.
- Public spending per student > Primary level: Public expenditure per student, primary level is the total reported current spending by the government on primary education, divided by the total number of pupils in primary education, expressed as a percentage of per capita GDP.
- Pupil-teacher ratio > Primary: Primary school pupil-teacher ratio is the number of pupils enrolled in primary school divided by the number of primary school teachers (regardless of their teaching assignment).
- Pupil-teacher ratio, primary: Pupil-teacher ratio, primary. Pupil-teacher ratio. Primary is the number of pupils enrolled in primary school divided by the number of primary school teachers.
- Pupil-teacher ratio, secondary: Pupil-teacher ratio, secondary. Pupil-teacher ratio. Secondary is the number of pupils enrolled in secondary school divided by the number of secondary school teachers.
- Pupil-teacher ratio, secondary per million: Pupil-teacher ratio, secondary. Pupil-teacher ratio. Secondary is the number of pupils enrolled in secondary school divided by the number of secondary school teachers. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
- School life expectancy > Total: School life expectancy and transition from primary to secondary for school years 1998/99 and 1999/00, published in http://www.uis.unesco.org accessed on Sept. 2002 and Women's Indicators and Statistics Database (Wistat), Version 4, CD-ROM (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.00.XVII.4) based on data provided by UNESCO in 1999.
- Schools connected to the Internet: Schools connected to the Internet are the share of primary and secondary schools in the country that have access to the Internet.
- Scientific and technical journal articles: Scientific and technical journal articles refer to the number of scientific and engineering articles published in the following fields: physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, clinical medicine, biomedical research, engineering and technology, and earth and space sciences.
- Scouting > Genders admitted: Admits boys/girls.
- Secondary education > General pupils: Secondary general pupils are the number of secondary students enrolled in general education programs, including teacher training.
- Secondary education > Teachers > Per capita: Secondary education teachers includes full-time and part-time teachers. Per capita figures expressed per 1,000 population.
- Secondary education, duration > Years: Secondary education, duration (years). Duration of secondary education is the number of grades (years) in secondary education (ISCED 2 & 3).
- Secondary education, general pupils: Secondary education, general pupils. Enrolment in total secondary. Public and private. General programmes. Total is the total number of students enrolled in general programmes at public and private secondary education institutions.
- Secondary education, pupils: Secondary education, pupils. Enrolment in total secondary. Public and private. All programmes. Total is the total number of students enrolled at public and private secondary education institutions.
- Secondary education, pupils per 1000: Secondary education, pupils. Enrolment in total secondary. Public and private. All programmes. Total is the total number of students enrolled at public and private secondary education institutions. Figures expressed per thousand population for the same year.
- Secondary education, teachers: Secondary education, teachers. Teaching staff in total secondary. Public and private. Full and part-time. All programmes. Total is the total number of teachers in public and private secondary education institutions (ISCED 2 and 3). Teachers are persons employed full time or part time in an official capacity to guide and direct the learning experience of pupils and students, irrespective of their qualifications or the delivery mechanism, i.e. face-to-face and/or at a distance. This definition excludes educational personnel who have no active teaching duties (e.g. headmasters, headmistresses or principals who do not teach) and persons who work occasionally or in a voluntary capacity in educational institutions.
- Secondary education, teachers per 1000: Secondary education, teachers. Teaching staff in total secondary. Public and private. Full and part-time. All programmes. Total is the total number of teachers in public and private secondary education institutions (ISCED 2 and 3). Teachers are persons employed full time or part time in an official capacity to guide and direct the learning experience of pupils and students, irrespective of their qualifications or the delivery mechanism, i.e. face-to-face and/or at a distance. This definition excludes educational personnel who have no active teaching duties (e.g. headmasters, headmistresses or principals who do not teach) and persons who work occasionally or in a voluntary capacity in educational institutions. Figures expressed per thousand population for the same year.
- Secondary school starting age > Years: Secondary school starting age (years). Entrance age of 2A lower secondary is the age at which students would enter lower secondary education, assuming they had started at the official entrance age for the lowest level of education, had studied full-time throughout and had progressed through the system without repeating or skipping a grade.
- Spending > Proportion: Education expenditure refers to the current operating expenditures in education, including wages and salaries and excluding capital investments in buildings and equipment. Expressed as a proportion of GNI."
- Spending > USD: Education expenditure refers to the current operating expenditures in education, including wages and salaries and excluding capital investments in buildings and equipment."
- Spending per student > College and university: Public expenditure per student is the public current spending on education divided by the total number of students by level, as a percentage of GDP per capita. Public expenditure (current and capital) includes government spending on educational institutions (both public and private), education administration as well as subsidies for private entities (students/households and other privates entities)."
- Spending per student > Elementary school: Public expenditure per student is the public current spending on education divided by the total number of students by level, as a percentage of GDP per capita. Public expenditure (current and capital) includes government spending on educational institutions (both public and private), education administration as well as subsidies for private entities (students/households and other privates entities)."
- Spending per student > High school: Public expenditure per student is the public current spending on education divided by the total number of students by level, as a percentage of GDP per capita. Public expenditure (current and capital) includes government spending on educational institutions (both public and private), education administration as well as subsidies for private entities (students/households and other privates entities)."
- Tertiary > Students studying abroad: Total number of post-secondary students who were studying abroad during given year.
- Tertiary > Students studying abroad proportion: The number of students from a given country studying abroad in a given year, expressed as a percentage of total tertiary enrollment in that country. Ratios greater than 100 % are possible, because those currently studying abroad do not count towards total enrollment.
- Tertiary enrollment: Gross enrolment ratio, tertiary level is the sum of all tertiary level students enrolled at the start of the school year, expressed as a percentage of the mid-year population in the 5 year age group after the official secondary school leaving age.
SOURCES: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics.; Lynn, R. and Vanhanen, T. (2002). IQ and the Wealth of Nations. Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-97510-X; UNESCO; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Source tables; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Source tables; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Source tables; World Development Indicators database; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; United Nations Statistics Division. Source tables; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Source tables; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Source tables; United Nations Statistics Division. Source tables; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Source tables; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Source tables; Source: UNESCO UIS Data | UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Source: UNESCO UIS Data | UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Source tables; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Source tables; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Source tables; United Nations Statistics Division. Source tables; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Source tables; United Nations Development Programme. Source tables; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Source tables; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Source tables; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Source tables; World Health Organization. Source tables; CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; Wikipedia: List of World Organization of the Scout Movement members (Table of World Organization of the Scout Movement members); World Bank staff estimates using data from the United Nations Statistics Division's Statistical Yearbook, and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics online database.; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Source tables; UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Source tables
Citation
Jamaica Education Profiles (Subcategories)
- Jamaica ranked 14 places from the bottom for secondary education, duration > years amongst Former British colonies in 2012.
- Jamaica ranked 33 places from the bottom for primary education, duration > years amongst Heavily indebted countries in 2012.
5
The Jamaican education system is firmly entrenched on the premise that every child can learn, every child must. The country’s education system formally starts with what is known as the Basic school at age 3 but sometimes as early as age 2. The first recognized basic school in Jamaica, was started by the Rev. Henry Ward, in Islington, in the north eastern parish of St. Mary in the late 1930s. The school still exists as the Islington Early Childhood Institute.
Primary school attendance is mandatory for all students between the ages of 6 and 12 or grades one to six. A literacy and numeracy test is given at grade four and the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) is administered at the end of primary education. This test helps to filter students into secondary education.
Secondary school attendance is provided for students between the ages of 12 and 19 or grade 7 to 13. Following the completion of a mandatory 5 years up to grade 11, students have the option of moving on to grades 12 and 13 or sixth form as it is more commonly called. Matriculation to the sixth form usually requires passes in 5 or more subjects in the external examinations called Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate or CSEC for short. Those who do not matriculate often take up skills training in the national training agency called Human Employment and Resource Training – HEART.
Over the last decade, a plethora of opportunities have emerged for young people to benefit from tertiary training and more significantly, associate and undergraduate degrees.
However, there are three main universities, the University of the West Indies, the University of Technology and the Seventh Day Adventist run Northern Caribbean University. There are also seven colleges dedicated to the training of teachers.
Posted on 28 Mar 2014
chris.lockyer781
396 Stat enthusiast
