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Caribbean Islands Education
The government of St. Lucia has made universal education a
national priority. Although in the late 1980s, a basic education
still was not available to all members of society, government
programs had succeeded in bringing primary education to 80 percent
of the population. Fulfilling all the educational requirements of
the society, however, particularly the development of a work force
capable of meeting the needs of a growing economy, remained an
elusive goal.
Education in St. Lucia was free and compulsory from age five
through age fifteen. In the 1980s, enrollment levels ran as high as
85 percent in the primary schools. Planning and operation of the
school system were the responsibilities of the Ministry of
Education and Culture. The agency, which oversaw all primary,
secondary, and post-secondary institutions, was considered a
professional and effective ministry. The illiteracy rate remained
high, ranging from 20 to 25 percent, and was a problem often
attributed to the number of patois-speaking inhabitants who did not
participate in the education system.
In 1985 the primary school system included 82 schools, 35,000
students, and nearly 1,000 teachers, 35 percent of whom were
considered trained. Although enrollment at the primary level was
very high, many graduated without achieving basic skills in
mathematics and English. A renewed effort at teaching English as a
second language was developed at this level to hasten the
assimilation of the patois-speaking population at an early age.
In 1985 there were eleven secondary schools in St. Lucia; six
offered full secondary education programs, whereas the remainder
provided a curriculum only through the junior secondary level. The
schools were located in urban areas and provided education for
approximately 3,100 students. As this number suggests, only one
student in ten was able to continue education beyond the primary
level. This situation had a profound impact on society, forcing
some 2,000 to 3,000 new job seekers into the work force each year
following completion of their primary education.
Post-secondary education was offered by four colleges and a
regional technical training college for teachers operated under the
auspices of the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Operations. St.
Lucia's institutions of higher education included the Teacher's
Training College, the Division of Technical Education and
Management of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (formerly the
Morne Fortune Technical College), the St. Lucia College of
Agriculture, and the Sixth Form College. By late 1986, however, all
post-secondary schools were being reorganized under the Sir Arthur
Lewis Community College with grants from the Peace Corps, Canadian
government, and World Bank (see Glossary).
Although the number of teachers working in St. Lucia was
growing and upgrading of facilities continued at a steady pace,
certain key problems still required attention. Space constraints
prohibited the expansion of enrollments, advanced instruction for
teachers was lacking, particularly at the primary level, and
vocational programs needed to be added to the curriculum. In spite
of the government's emphasis on educational development, the school
system was not providing enough graduates at all levels to meet the
societal needs of a developing country.
Data as of November 1987
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