The World Bank has declared the Caribbean’s education system in crisis and warned of dire implications if immediate reforms are not enacted.
Senior executives from the international banking organisation revealed Caribbean schools’ fundamental flaws, including outdated teaching methods, inadequate infrastructure, and growing educational inequality, in a global webinar on Monday. They called for major financial investment and teacher support to reverse the region’s educational downturn.
Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean, reported a catastrophic situation.“We are facing a crisis that is jeopardising the future of the Caribbean, a crisis in education,” she remarked. “This may sound dramatic, but education is so important and the systems are failing. This is a crisis. We must ask and respond how to promote literacy, numeracy, and critical thinking to improve learning outcomes.
The World Bank’s harsh assessment found many defects in Caribbean schooling.
In a detailed examination, World Bank education global practice senior economist Victoria Levin noted antiquated teaching techniques, inadequate infrastructure, and substantial educational access inequities as key drivers to the region’s educational underperformance.
“The Caribbean’s teaching practices are still quite traditional, focussing on rigid curricula that do not meet the needs of 21st-century learners,” Levin added. Teachers lack support to adjust their teaching approaches, add social-emotional skills, or help special education pupils. In certain nations, teacher recruitment and deployment lack professional standards, leaving untrained teachers struggling in the classroom. Thus, classroom time is wasted, limiting student learning.”
Levin also cited deteriorating educational infrastructure.
Countries underinvest in capital expenditures and educational infrastructure. Outdated schools cannot handle the rising frequency of extreme climatic disasters. Poor Internet availability and unequal access to digital devices restrict students’ learning and digital skills development.
The World Bank has attacked the Caribbean’s stratified secondary school system for entrenching social inequality.
Levin described the “two-tier system” in which elite schools serve wealthy kids while underfunded schools serve poorer children.
Elite secondary schools preserve their privilege through select admissions based on standardised entrance tests. This sorting system has lifetime effects on kids, Levin added. “While, the rest of the secondary school system fails to deliver the necessary competencies, perpetuating social inequality.”
The World Bank also criticised the region’s special education system for a lack of data, speciality schools, and competent teachers. Levin faulted restrictive curricula and the lack of accessible bathrooms and ramps for various learning requirements.
“Special education remains under-prioritised, with missing policies and procedures for transitioning students into or out of special education,” she said.
Educational access has improved, with pre-primary attendance rising from 65% to 85% in the previous two decades, but Caribbean learning outcomes remain worryingly low. The global database of harmonised test scores shows that Caribbean kids underperform high-income and upper-middle-income students.
Levin said “students are struggling with foundational skills, such as literacy and numeracy, even in primary schools.” Most countries’ primary education ends with numeracy abilities falling behind literacy.
This learning deficiency continues in secondary school.Levin said: “Students who fall behind in early grades on foundational skills cannot master more advanced competencies later on. CSEC exam results show that less than 80% of pupils passed English and less than half passed Maths, even among the best performers.
