Jamaica

Presently the following categories of schools exist:

• Early childhood – Basic, Infant and privately operated pre- school. Age cohort – 2 – 5 years.

• Primary – Publicly and privately owned (Privately owned being called Preparatory Schools). Ages 3 – 12 years.

• Secondary – Publicly and privately owned. Ages 10 – 19 years.   The high schools in Jamaica may be either single-sex or co-educational institutions, and many schools follow the traditional English Grammar School model used throughout the British West Indies.

• Tertiary – Community Colleges, Teachers’ Colleges with The Mico Teachers’ College (now The MICO University College) being the oldest founded in 1836, The Shortwood Teachers’ College (which was once an all female teacher training institution), Vocational Training Centres, Colleges and Universities – Publicly and privately owned.  There are five local universities namely:  The University of the West Indies (Mona Campus); the University of Technology, Jamaica, formerly The College of Art Science and Technology (CAST); the Northern Caribbean University, formerly West Indies College; the University College of the Caribbean and the International University of the Caribbean.

The Jamaican education sector faces serious challenges in its efforts to provide quality learning opportunities for children up to age eighteen.  The vast majority of Jamaica’s school children who are enrolled in public schools are being denied the higher quality education provided in private schools, based on the socio-economic status of their families.   Across the island, children contend with inadequate learning material, lack of infrastructure, outdated curricula, didactic teaching methodologies and other challenges that prevent children from learning in a child-friendly environment.