Education in

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...

is based primarily on the British model.

Overview

Universal access to primary and secondary education dates from at least the 1960s. The literacy rate in Barbados for youth and adults are both above 99%, only falling to 98.5 among the elderly. The literacy gender parity rate is 1.0. This information is for 2014. Starting in 2000, the government initiated the Education Sector Enhancement Programme, usually referred to as EduTech 2000. This USD 213 million project was financed by the Government of Barbados (45%), the Inter-American Development Bank (40% and the Caribbean Development Bank (15%). This initiative provided for four key improvements: (a) repairs to 73 of the public primary and secondary school buildings; (b) new units established by the Ministry to support new teaching methodologies, including the Shell Media Resources Review Center, the National Educational Evaluation and Research Centre (at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill), and a Programme office within the Ministry; enhancements to the technological availability (new computers, software and networking); (d) in-service training for all teachers in technology integration, child-centred methodologies, and special needs education; and (e) curricular reform to respond to changes in Barbados society. The key conceptual foundations for the initiative are constructivism and child-centred education. Most of the in-service training was provided by

Erdiston Teachers' Training College The Erdiston Teachers' Training College is located in Pine Hill, Bridgetown, Barbados. It is affiliated with the School of Education of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. History Around 1912, Codrington College, under the dire ...

Institutions

As of 2015-16, there are: *10 public nursery schools, *14 private nursery schools, *68 public primary schools (of which 67 offer pre-primary education), *26 private primary/mixed schools, *3 public special needs schools (and 4 public primary schools with special needs services), *4 private special needs schools, *22 public secondary schools (of which nine offer

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for ...

), *9 private secondary/mixed schools ;5 tertiary- or vocational-level institutions * UWI Cave Hill *

Barbados Community College The Barbados Community College is a tertiary institution located on Eyrie Howells' Road, Saint Michael, Barbados. History Founded in 1968, the Barbados Community College came to be as a result of an Act of Parliament aimed at making post seco ...

(BCC) *The

Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology The Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology is a technical and vocational educational institution located in Pine Hill, Bridgetown, Barbados. History The Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI) laid its foundation in 1969 at t ...

(SJPI) *

Codrington College Codrington College is an Anglican theological college in St. John, Barbados now affiliated with the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill. It is one of the oldest Anglican theological colleges in the Americas. It was affiliated to the Un ...

* American University of Barbados ;1 central administrative agency, Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, including ''inter alia''
Media Resources Department
*Higher Education Development Unit *Education Project Implementation Unit

School Year

The Barbadian school year is fashioned after the British system, and as such, it follows a scheduling with three terms per school year. The first term begins the second week of September and continues for 15 weeks adjourning in mid-December excluding one week for Mid Term Break in Mid-October. The second Term begins in the first week of January and continues for 12 weeks ending the end of March. The final Third Term begins mid-April and continues for 11 weeks until the end of June. The School Holiday period is 9 to 10 weeks long from the end of June until the first week of September. Education is provided free of charge and is compulsory between the ages of 5 and 16, and attendance is strictly enforced.
. ''Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor (2001)''.

Bureau of International Labor Affairs The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) is an operating unit of the United States Department of Labor which manages the department's international responsibilities. According to its mission statement: ''“The Bureau of International L ...

, U.S. Department of Labor (2002). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...

. In 1991, the gross primary enrollment rate was 90.4 percent. It was reported that Barbados has spent roughly US$15 billion on Education since Independence in 1966. In 2006 during the inaugural Cecil F. deCaires Memorial Lecture at the Frank Collymore Hall, the former Central Bank Governor Sir

Courtney Blackman Sir Courtney Newlands McLaurin Blackman, KA (6 March 1933 – 16 March 2021) was a Barbadian economist, international business consultant, and diplomat. He served as the first Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados from 1972 to 1987. At the ...

remarked that between 1966 and 2000 successive Governments (of Barbados) had spent US$15 billion on education costs – "a remarkable investment for such a small state". In 2009, Ronald Jones as the Minister of Education and Human Resource Development said the Barbados government spent $290 million to upgrade the schools with information technology. Given this Jones said the ministry would be entering a grading processes for schools on their usage of the technology using a scale of 1 to 6.

Footnotes

References

Min. of Education: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS OF EDUCATION IN BARBADOS 1686 – 2000TotalBarbados.com: Education in BarbadosEarly Developments In Barbadian EducationU.S. State Department: Education in BarbadosBarbados
Commonwealth of Learning Network Statistics

External links

Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training
- Official website
The Barbados Accreditation CouncilStatistics
an
more statistics
about education in Barbados
World Data on Education 2010/2011 - Barbados
(International Bureau of Education / Unesco)
Country Dossiers: Barbados
(International Bureau of Education / Unesco)
Vocational Education & training in Barbados
UNESCO-UNEVOC country profile

webdossier by the portal Education Worldwide (German Education Server)
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) CouncilBajans thrive in NY schools
{{DEFAULTSORT:Education In Barbados Society of Barbados