Transforming Education
Achieving quality education for all
Challenges
Across the Eastern Caribbean, the education system is perceived by many to be out-of-sync with requirements for the future, especially the world of work. This has profound consequences both for individuals and our societies.
A significant number of students have been left behind in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Latin America and Caribbean region saw the most disruption in learning, with hundreds of in-person teaching days lost. Especially affected - and shut out of education - were those who experienced the ‘digital divide’, with no internet access and no devices. Many children are still trying to catch up on the education they have lost.
Although school attendance at primary and secondary level is relatively high, attainment is quite low, with only around a third of students getting a passing grade in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate. Boys’ greater level of disengagement is not being sufficiently addressed and means that they are more likely than girls to drop out of education.
In addition, violence in schools has become an increasingly worrying phenomenon.
The Solution
A successful education system should be relevant, equitable and inclusive. The need for transforming education is widely acknowledged. UNICEF and partners are working hard across the 12 countries and territories we serve to ensure all early childhood development centres, and primary and secondary schools provide quality education that caters for all children, no matter their abilities.
It is critical to start at the very beginning, in the first 1,000 days of life. This is a period of intense learning and rapid brain development. UNICEF is committed to an integrated, holistic approach to early childhood development with increased interlinking and harmonization of services.
We are enhancing the capacity of early childhood educators to provide quality care and learning in safe and supportive spaces. These educators are being trained in using developmentally appropriate practices with young children and sensitized in supporting children with learning disabilities.
Parents also play a key role, and we are working to provide them with information on nurturing care for young children.
UNICEF is striving to bridge the digital divide and working with partners to increase internet connectivity speeds and Wi-Fi access in schools including through the GIGA project in which UNICEF and the International Telecommunication Union are partnering in a global initiative to connect every school to the internet by 2030. The emphasis is on the development of curriculum-based digital content, as well as digital access to lessons. Teachers are also being trained in Information and Communications Technology to produce effective and engaging digital resources.
We are helping to build skills in a variety of areas. Teachers are being equipped to help students to manage their behaviour and understand positive approaches to discipline. Meaningful student participation in school governance is also being developed. In addition, UNICEF is supporting the Youth Marketplace Agency (YOMA) a digital learning, training and employment, mobilization and opportunities platform.
In a region prone to humanitarian crises and emergencies, it is important that our schools are safe. We are championing the Caribbean Safe Schools Initiative (CSSI) and the rollout of the Caribbean Safe Schools Recognition Programme in which schools are assessed and recognized for their safety efforts. A monitoring tool to track the implementation of the CSSI in primary schools has been developed, alongside child-centred disaster risk reduction training. There is a push towards integrating climate issues into mainstream curricula.
Some 8,000 children on the move from Venezuela are currently in Trinidad and Tobago. UNICEF has been working with partners to try to ensure that children have access to education (whether under a temporary learning initiative or mainstream school at primary level), supporting the teaching of English as a Second Language and online Spanish-language programming.
In humanitarian action
In the event of an emergency, UNICEF will work with partners to conduct a rapid assessment of schools affected; help provide temporary learning spaces, appropriate child-friendly spaces and mental health and psychosocial support, such as the Return to Happiness (RTH) programme. We will provide age-appropriate learning materials.