Education in Antigua and Barbuda
Encyclopedia
Education in Antigua and Barbuda
is compulsory and free for children between the ages of 5 and 16 years. In order to ensure that all costs related to schooling are covered by the government, there is an education levy on all basic wages in Antigua and Barbuda, with the funds used toward such costs as supplies, transportation, and school infrastructure maintenance. Primary education begins at the age of five years and normally lasts for seven years. Secondary education lasts for five years, with three years of lower secondary, followed by two years of upper secondary. In 2001, there were about 13,000 students enrolled at the primary schools and 5,000 students at the secondary schools. About 1,000 secondary school age students were enrolled in vocational programs. As of 2000 the primary pupil-teacher ratio was an estimated 19 to 1; the ratio for secondary school was about 13:1. The government administers the majority of the schools. In 2003, estimated spending on education was about 3.8% of the GDP. In 2000, about 38% of primary school students were enrolled in private schools.
There currently are three colleges. The University of Health Sciences Antigua
, was founded in 1982. It had, in the 1990s, an enrollment of 46 students and 16 teachers. The University of the West Indies School of Continuing Studies (Antigua and Barbuda) was founded in 1949 and offers adult education courses, secretarial skills training programs, summer courses for children, and special programs for women. In 1972, the technical and teacher’s training colleges merged and formed the Antigua State College.
The University of the West Indies has campuses in Barbados
, Trinidad
, and Jamaica
, and it maintains extramural departments in several other islands, including Antigua
. Those interested in higher education also enroll at schools in the United Kingdom
, the United States
, Europe
and Canada
. The adult literacy rate is approximately 89%.
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands...
is compulsory and free for children between the ages of 5 and 16 years. In order to ensure that all costs related to schooling are covered by the government, there is an education levy on all basic wages in Antigua and Barbuda, with the funds used toward such costs as supplies, transportation, and school infrastructure maintenance. Primary education begins at the age of five years and normally lasts for seven years. Secondary education lasts for five years, with three years of lower secondary, followed by two years of upper secondary. In 2001, there were about 13,000 students enrolled at the primary schools and 5,000 students at the secondary schools. About 1,000 secondary school age students were enrolled in vocational programs. As of 2000 the primary pupil-teacher ratio was an estimated 19 to 1; the ratio for secondary school was about 13:1. The government administers the majority of the schools. In 2003, estimated spending on education was about 3.8% of the GDP. In 2000, about 38% of primary school students were enrolled in private schools.
There currently are three colleges. The University of Health Sciences Antigua
University of Health Sciences Antigua
The University of Health Sciences Antigua is a private, for-profit medical school located in Dowhill near Falmouth, Antigua, in the Caribbean. UHSA confers upon its graduates the Doctor of Medicine degree.-History:...
, was founded in 1982. It had, in the 1990s, an enrollment of 46 students and 16 teachers. The University of the West Indies School of Continuing Studies (Antigua and Barbuda) was founded in 1949 and offers adult education courses, secretarial skills training programs, summer courses for children, and special programs for women. In 1972, the technical and teacher’s training colleges merged and formed the Antigua State College.
The University of the West Indies has campuses in Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
, and Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, and it maintains extramural departments in several other islands, including Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
. Those interested in higher education also enroll at schools in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The adult literacy rate is approximately 89%.