February 18, 2025
The World Bank has delivered a damning verdict on the Caribbean’s education system, labelling it as being in a state of crisis and warning of severe consequences if urgent reforms are not implemented.
During a virtual webinar on Monday, senior officials from the international financial institution laid bare the systemic inadequacies plaguing Caribbean schools, highlighting outdated teaching practices, ill-equipped infrastructure, and widening educational inequities. They stressed the need for significant financial investment and enhanced teacher support to reverse the region’s educational decline.
The World Bank’s Country Director for the Caribbean, Lilia Burunciuc did not mince words as she described a dire state of affairs.
“We are confronting a crisis that is jeopardising the future of the Caribbean, a crisis in education,” she said. “This may sound dramatic, but the impact on education is so critical, and the systems are failing. Indeed, this constitutes a crisis. We must ask ourselves and answer questions about how we can strengthen foundational skills in literacy, numeracy, and critical thinking to improve learning outcomes.”
The World Bank’s scathing assessment pinpointed numerous flaws within the Caribbean’s education system.
In a detailed analysis, Victoria Levin, senior economist in the World Bank’s education global practice cited outdated teaching methods, inadequate infrastructure, and severe disparities in educational access as key contributors to the region’s educational underperformance.
“Teaching practices in the Caribbean are still quite traditional, focusing on rigid curricula that do not meet the needs of 21st-century learners,” Levin said. “Teachers lack the necessary support to adapt their instructional methods, incorporate social-emotional skills, or assist students with special educational needs. Additionally, some countries lack professional standards for teacher recruitment and deployment, leaving inexperienced educators struggling in the classroom. Consequently, classroom time is not utilised effectively, hindering students’ knowledge and skill acquisition.”
Levin also raised concerns about the declining quality of educational infrastructure.
Senior Economist in the World Bank’s Education Global Practice Victoria Levin. (WB)
“Countries are not investing enough in capital expenditures or educational infrastructure. Schools are outdated and ill-equipped to handle the increasing frequency of extreme climate events. Digital infrastructure is equally inadequate, with poor Internet access and unequal access to digital devices, limiting students’ opportunities for continued learning and digital skills development.”
The World Bank’s report also criticised the Caribbean’s highly stratified secondary education system, which entrenches social inequalities.
Levin highlighted the so-called “two-tier system” where elite schools cater to students from wealthier families, while under-resourced institutions serve lower-income communities.
“The elite secondary schools maintain their privileged status through highly selective admissions processes based on standardised entrance exams. This serves as a sorting mechanism with lifelong consequences for students,” Levin said. “Meanwhile, the rest of the secondary school system fails to deliver the necessary competencies, perpetuating social inequality.”
The World Bank also condemned the region’s inadequate provision for special education, citing a lack of reliable data, insufficient specialised schools, and a shortage of qualified teachers. Levin pointed to rigid curricula that fail to accommodate diverse learning needs and highlighted the absence of essential facilities such as accessible toilets and ramps.
“Special education remains under-prioritised, with missing policies and procedures for transitioning students into or out of special education,” she added.
World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean Lilia Burunciuc. (WB)
Despite notable progress in educational access such as an increase in pre-primary enrolment from 65 per cent to 85 per cent over the last two decades, learning outcomes across the Caribbean remain worryingly low. Results from the global database of harmonised test scores show that students in the Caribbean are significantly underperforming compared to their peers in high-income and upper-middle-income countries.
Levin revealed that “students are struggling with foundational skills, such as literacy and numeracy, even in primary schools. Numeracy skills, in particular, are lagging behind literacy by the end of primary education in most countries.”
This learning deficit extends into secondary education.
Levin said: “Students who fall behind in early grades on foundational skills are unable to master more advanced competencies later on. This is evident in CSEC exam results, where less than 80 per cent of students passed English and fewer than half passed Maths, even among the better-performing students.”
The situation is further exacerbated by persistently low post-secondary and tertiary enrolment rates across the region, which limit young people’s access to higher education and better job opportunities.
The World Bank also highlighted a growing disconnect between education and labour market requirements. Burunciuc noted that Caribbean employers consistently report skills shortages, indicating that the current education system is failing to prepare students for the workforce.
She also expressed concern about declining parental engagement.
Both Levin and Burunciuc stressed the urgent need for increased investment in education across the Caribbean. Levin noted that while the region spends more per student on tertiary education than high-income countries, it allocates significantly less funding to primary and secondary education.
“With the share of the young population declining across the region, it is crucial to invest more in every child to ensure they receive quality education and acquire the skills necessary to be productive adults,” Levin argued. “If we can fix the quality of education, we can achieve tremendous impacts, including higher productivity, reduced crime and risky behaviours, improved health, and greater civic engagement.”
Although the World Bank’s findings paint a bleak picture of the current state of Caribbean education, they also provide a roadmap for change. The organisation urges Caribbean governments to modernise curricula, enhance teacher training, and increase investment in digital infrastructure.
Officials said that addressing the deep-seated inequities within the education system is critical to ensuring that all students regardless of their socio-economic background have access to high-quality education.
Burunciuc concluded with a stark warning: “This is not just an education crisis; it is a crisis that threatens the future of the Caribbean. The time for action is now.”