achievements and challenges

Transcription

1 Regional Education Indicators Project SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS EDUCATIONAL PANORAMA 2007: achievements and challenges

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3 Regional Education Indicators Project SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS EDUCATIONAL PANORAMA 2007: achievements and challenges

4 CREDITS Report prepared for the Summit of the Americas Regional Education Indicators Project - PRIE. General Coordination: Secretaría de Educación Pública de México. Lic. Josefina Vázquez Mota. Secretary. Dr. Jorge Santibáñez Romellón. Head of Policy Evaluation and Planning Unit. Ana María Aceves Estrada. General Director of Policy Assessment. Emb. Carlos García de Alba. Director- General International Relations. Technical coordination: Regional Bureau of Education for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (OREALC UNESCO/Santiago) with the collaboration of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Rosa Blanco. Directora a.i. Technical Work Group: Daniel Taccari. Regional Advisor of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics Coordinator of the Regional Information System (SIRI) OREALC/UNESCO Santiago. Ivan Castro de Almeida. Consultant OREALC UNESCO/Santiago. Paula Louzano. Consultant OREALC UNESCO/Santiago. Valeria Rocha. Consultant OREALC UNESCO/Santiago. Marcela Copetta. Administrative assistant OREALC UNESCO/Santiago. Steering Committee: Atilio Pizarro (Chile); Wilfer Valero (Colombia); Laura Salamanca (El Salvador); Ana María Aceves Estrada (Mexico); Marva Ribeiro (Trinidad and Tobago); Mara Pérez Torrano (Uruguay); Lenore Yaffee García (OAS), OREALC/UNESCO Santiago team. English translation: Ernesto Leigh. Design and layout: Marcela Veas. Those carrying out the project are responsible for the contents of this report. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Secretaría de Educación Pública de Mexico nor of UNESCO and therefore do not effect the responsibilities of these institutions nor of any of the organizations supporting the project. The place names used in this publication do not imply any position in regard to the legal status of the countries, cities, territories, or areas cited, nor of their authorities, boundaries, or limits. UNESCO and Secretaría de Educación Pública de México ISBN: This publication is available on-line at and and may be quoted provided that the source is duly cited. The Regional Education Indicators Project of the Summit of the Americas - PRIE. exists thanks to contributions from the Secretaría de Educación Pública de México (SEP), the Organization of American States (OAS), and UNESCO through its Institute for Statistics (UIS) and its Regional Bureau of Education for Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC/UNESCO Santiago) November

5 CONTENTS CREDITS 2 PRESENTATION 5 1 INTRODUCTION 7 2 READER S GUIDE 9 Information sources 9 Definitions and methods 9 Data 9 Countries 10 Data and indicators 10 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 11 4 ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES 17 GOAL 1: UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO AND COMPLETION OF QUALITY PRIMARY EDUCATION FOR ALL CHILDREN 18 A. Demographic, Economic and Social Context of the Americas 19 B. Access to and progress in primary education 22 C. Completion of primary education 27 D. Equity in primary education 30 GOAL 2: ACCESS FOR AT LEAST 75 PERCENT OF YOUNG PEOPLE TO QUALITY SECONDARY EDUCATION, WITH INCREASING PERCENTAGES OF YOUNG PEOPLE WHO COMPLETE SECONDARY EDUCATION 36 E. Access to secondary education 36 F. Secondary education completion 39 G. Equity in secondary education 41 GOAL 3. OFFERING LIFELONG LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES TO THE SOCIETY 45 A. The Importance of Lifelong Learning 46 B. Lifelong Learning in Latin America and the Caribbean 46 C. Lifelong Learning in the United States and Canada 52 THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION 53 OTHER FACTORS LINKED TO EDUCATION PROGRESS 58 Investments in Education 58

6 5 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 65 What is ECCE? 65 Why is it important? 66 ECCE and Transition into Primary School 67 What Programs Work? 67 Changes in Organized Child Care 68 Monitoring Progress towards EFA Goal 1 68 ECCE Policies in the Region 74 6 CONCLUSIONS 77 Context 77 Access, Permanence and Completion 77 Equity and Quality Learning 79 Efforts 80 Availability of relevant statistical data for monitoring regional and international commitments 80 7 REFERENCES 81 8 APPENDICES COUNTRY PROFILES DATA TABLES 105

7 PRESENTATION The Regional Education Indicators Project (PRIE) has been one of the mechanisms defined within the Summit of the Americas framework for monitoring and assessing the progress for the 34 Inter-American System countries regarding the educational goals to be accomplished by the year Launched in the year 2000, PRIE has been making systematic contributions for the development of substantial analytical information supporting countries with empirical evidence for decision making, following several actions mentioned in the Action Plan defined by the Organization of the American States (OAS) Member States, as result of the Summits and Education Ministerial Meetings. Thus, the Heads of State and Government, the Ministers of Education and the public in general have been able to count with specific information about the education situation of their countries pertaining to achieving the educational goals. Within the project framework, important efforts have been made to improve the quality of the comparable education statistics at international level, to strengthen the information systems within the countries of the region, and to promote activities related to the use and analysis of the available information. In this way, PRIE has supported the existing regional effort on education statistics deployed by the Regional Information System (SIRI) of the Regional Bureau of Education for Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC), as a key referent in the region, together with the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, responsible making comparable quality information available. The Secretaría de Educación Pública de México, as the general project coordinator together with UNESCO as specialized technical organization, and the countries responsible for the educational information and statistics systems have been carrying out the corresponding actions established in the PRIE Work Plan for the period This valuable project has counted with the financial support of the OAS Inter-American Committee on Education and the Secretaría de Educación Pública de México; and the guidance of a Steering Committee composed by representatives of five countries of the region, besides SEP, OREALC/UNESCO and OAS representatives.

8 This report, 2007 Educational Panorama: achievements and challenges, is presented as a final version which includes the comments made by the countries on the preliminary version presentes to the Ministers of Education during the V Summit of the Americas Ministerial Meeting held in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia from November 14th to 16th The document is an additional contribution in providing information to the debate on actions and policies necessary to achieving the goals for the year 2010, and to promote people integral development through education as one of the key factors to the economic development, to social inclusion, and to the democratic governability in the region. José Miguel Insulza Josefina Vázquez Mota Rosa Blanco Secretariy General Organization of the American States Secretary Secretaría de Educación Pública de México Director a.i. UNESCO Regional Bureau of Education for Latin America and the Caribbean OREALC/UNESCO Santiago

9 1 INTRODUCTION At the Second Summit of the Americas (Chile, April, 1998), 34 Heads of State and of Government adopted a Regional Plan of Action for Education, stating the three general goals to be met by 2010: ensure universal access to and completion of quality primary education for 100 percent of children; guarantee access to at least 75 percent of the youth to quality secondary education, with increasing percentages of them completing secondary education; and provide life-long learning opportunities for the general population In July 1998, Ministers of Education of member countries of the Summit of the Americas meeting in Brasilia, Brazil, launched a regional project intended to guarantee assessment and follow-up activities in the framework of the regional Plan of Action. In 2001, the Regional Education Indicators Project (PRIE) published its first report Educational Panorama of the Americas which presented an overview of the state of the education in the region. The report Achieving the Educational Goals (2003) represented a first analysis focused on progress made by the countries towards achieving the education goals proposed at the Summit of the Americas. Two years later, Educational Panorama 2005: progressing toward the goals, defined a minimum set of relevant follow-up indicators. The present document Educational Panorama 2007: achievements and challenges seeks to establish how many countries have advanced toward materializing the proposed educational goals since the adoption of the Plan of Action, when only 3 short years separate us from the deadline; and, more specifically, to analyze the state of early childhood education in the region. While this education level is not included in the Plan of Action goals, the importance of early childhood education has become a growing concern among the region s policy-makers. In this connection, the Ministers of Education of the Summit of the Americas meeting at Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago (August, 2005) during their IV Meeting in the scope of the Inter-american Council for Integral Development (CIDI) of the Organization of American States (OAS), decided to incorporate this topic into their education agenda. Thus, the ministers attending Scarborough and the Commitments to Action declared: We recognize the need to broaden the structure of education beginning with early childhood education, given its very positive impact on the quality of education and on the reduction of inequality. And decided to include early childhood education as a key topic to be addressed at the Fifth Ministerial Meeting. This report is organized as follows. We first present a reader s guide containing information on data sources, definitions and methodological aspects of this report and a list of participating countries, followed by an executive summary highlighting the most relevant aspects of this document. Next, we present an analysis of the educational goals adopted at the Summit of the Americas, evaluating when information is available progress made in recent years. Consequently, this chapter is divided into 3 parts, one for each of the goals, and an additional section containing analyses and descriptions of specific topics such as education quality and per-pupil expenditure on education. 7

10 Finally, there follows an analysis of the situation of early childhood education in the region, as well as conclusions. An annex provides country profiles as well as data tables used in this document.

11 2 READER S GUIDE Information sources In order to assure international comparability of the information treated, the Regional Education Indicators Project (PRIE) has developed this report based on information collected and published by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Most of the information used corresponds to that published on the UIS web site ( We have also consulted information published by the OECD (the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) for its member states based on the same standards as the information for UNESCO, as well as information from household surveys collected and processed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), also treated in accordance with the international standards defined by UIS. Definitions and methods A basic tool used for international comparability is the 1997 International Standard Classification of Education, ISCED 97 1 of UNESCO. Averages in this report are arithmetical means of the values for the countries considered in each case. Financial information considered used the U.S. dollar adjusted for different national purchasing values by the PPP (purchasing power parity) according to data of the World Bank published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Data Except for cases noted in the annex, the school year (usually ending in this same year in the southern hemisphere and in the following year in the northern hemisphere) is , which is the last period to date for which internationally comparable information is available at the time this report has been produced. All tables and figures show the information available for each indicator used. Thus, not all countries appear in all tables and figures. The appendix provides all information used and shows data that has been included in each case. The notation n.a. indicates that information was not available at the time of elaborating this report, either because it is non-existent or was not included in the source. Note that in some cases, available information may correspond to estimates of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics or to the country. When there is no available information for the reference year that of the closest possible year may have been used. This information is also included in the data annex. 1 For more information about this clasification see 2 Or the last available year

12 Information contained in this report may be different than that used and disseminated on the national level. These differences are due to the following: All references to education levels are expressed in terms of the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 97) which does not necessarily coincide with the national terms used in each country. Thus, for example, in this report, primary education is equivalent to Level 1 of ISCED 97, which is not necessarily identical to what countries call primary, basic, fundamental education, etc. The information sources used to calculate the indicators do not necessarily coincide with other sources that countries or other organizations may employ. Examples are the value of Gross Domestic Product or demographic information based on population projections of the Population Division of the United Nations. In order to assure comparability, in all cases we have chosen to use the indicators, definitions, classifications, nomenclatures, sources, and calculation methods of UIS, according to accepted international standards available at Countries This report covers 34 active member states of the Organization of American States which represent the majority of the countries of the hemisphere. These 34 countries and the identifying abbreviations used are as follows: AG Antigua and Barbuda DO Dominican Republic PE Peru AR Argentina EC Ecuador PN Panama BB Barbados GD Grenada PY Paraguay BO Bolivia GT Guatemala SR Suriname BR Brazil GY Guyana SV El Salvador BS Bahamas HN Honduras TT Trinidad and Tobago BZ Belize HT Haiti US United States CA Canada JM Jamaica UY Uruguay CL Chile KN St Kitts and Nevis VC St Vicent and the Grenadines CO Colombia LC St Lucia VN Venezuela CR Costa Rica MX Mexico DM Dominica NI Nicaragua Data and indicators PRIE began in the year 2000 with a set of preliminary data and indicators. This set was revised in light of the experience derived from the first Educational Panorama of the Americas in 2001, on technical work performed during the first phase, on the report on progress toward the goals published in and on the findings of Educational Panorama 2005: progressing toward the goals. The present report is based on previous work and has defined a preliminary minimum set of indicators comparable with those that describe the state of education of countries with particular reference to the education goals of the Summit of the Americas. In this sense, the report has received the benefit of various discussions that have pointed toward the need to possess such a minimum and stable set of both data and indicators. 3 About the details of this revision see The experience of the Regional Education Indicators Project Available on prie.oas.org and 10

13 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report, which preliminary version was presented at the V Meeting of Ministers of Education within the frame of the Inter-american Council for Integral Development (CIDI) of the Organization of American States (OAS), is meant to serve as a contribution by the Regional Education Indicators Project of the Summit of the Americas (PRIE), to the work of this meeting. This document provides quantitative data on the state of education in Summit of the Americas participating countries, and seeks to describe the achievements and the challenges, through the Summit education goals perspective. In 1988, at the Second Summit of the Americas (Chile), Heads of State and Government adopted a Regional Plan of Action for Education, stating the three general goals to be met by 2010: 1. to ensure universal access and completion of quality primary education for 100 percent of children 2. access to at least 75 percent of the youth to quality secondary education, with increasing percentages of them completing secondary education 3. the responsibility for providing life-long learning opportunity for the the general population. In connection with the first Summit of the Americas goal: 1. During the period, most of the countries in the region evidenced an increase in levels of relative wealth measured in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP per capita), a progress on the Human Development Index (HDI) and a decrease in potential demand (5-14 year-olds) for primary education. 2. Countries facing the harshest education challenges related to ensuring access to and completion of primary education to a large proportion of their population, show lower levels of relative growth (measured both in terms of human development and economic wealth per inhabitant). On the other hand, recent economic, social and demographic changes have shown very different trends. Although Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Bolivia have similar levels of potential demand, GDPs per capita and HDIs, these indicators have evolved differently. This means that in some of these countries conditions appear more favorable to meet the Summit of the Americas education challenges. 3. Almost 10 years after adoption of the Second Summit of the Americas Plan of Action, timely entry to primary education is an area that still deserves special attention. In 12 countries, the proportion of children entering first grade at the official age is still below 70%, while only in seven countries it exceeds 80%. However, between 1999 and 2005 timely entry to primary education has evolved positively in nine countries of the region. In fact, during this period 100% of the child population of Barbados and Guyana achieved timely entry to first grade. 4. Countries that show the largest proportions of non-official age entrants present lower levels of relative wealth 11

14 (GDP per capita) as well as human development (HDI). It should be noted that the progress evidenced in countries such as the Dominican Republic and Guatemala which reduced late entry rates by 23% and 13%, respectively is an indication that countries facing economic and social constraints can still attain greater levels of efficiency and equity in terms of access to primary education. 5. Generally speaking, a large proportion of primary age children do, in fact, enter this level. In effect, seven countries of the region have attained universal enrolment. In 1999, Argentina had already universalized access to primary education, a situation that remained stable throughout the period. On the other hand, six countries, Belize, Ecuador, Barbados, Panama, Mexico and Brazil succeeded in enroling most of their official age first grade entrants during 1999 and In four countries, the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Nicaragua and Colombia, enrolment rates have still to reach the 90% mark, while in two others, Dominica and Grenada, enrolment rates are lower than 85%. Although countries with the lowest rates are precisely those that evidence the greatest constraints, gains in primary net enrolment rates prove that progress is possible despite unfavorable circumstances. 6. An important number of countries are very close to universalizing primary education completion. In effect, in seven countries (Bahamas, Barbados, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Suriname and Panama) the proportion of 15 to 19 year olds has already exceeded 95%. An additional seven countries (Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil, Costa Rica, Peru, Venezuela and Colombia) have surpassed the 90% threshold. Yet, relative to ensuring primary completion of recently graduation cohorts, a group of four countries (El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala) are still below 80%. Notably, in Guatemala over 40% of its 15 to 19 population has failed to complete primary education. 7. Comparison between these two age groups reveals that countries have progressed at different rates. The four countries facing the greatest constraints relative to universalizing primary education - considering that over 20% of their year-old population has yet to complete primary -, show a larger proportion of completers among the younger generation when compared to the immediately preceding generation. In this respect, the cases of Bolivia and Honduras are worth mentioning. These examples illustrate that, despite adverse circumstances, significant efforts have been made towards improving primary education completion rates among the new generations. However, primary education completion remains an unresolved issued in the region. 8. While in 18 countries current primary education completion exceeds 90% - in 8 of them reaching 100% - six countries are still below the 90% threshold (Venezuela, El Salvador, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala). 9. The fact that many of the students entering the system do not complete primary education or lag behind in grade, is the result of high repetition and dropout rates. These two phenomena have been part of the region s education agenda and international and regional action plans and policy recommendations. Repetition levels vary widely in the region. In countries such as Brazil and Suriname, where close to 20% of first grade school-goers are repeaters, this indicator is expectedly- extremely high. Yet, between 1999 and 2005 repetition levels in the region dropped significantly. 10. While access to primary education in the region is virtually universal, completion is not, being unequally distributed among the various social groups and affecting most severely the socially disadvantaged. 11. It should be emphasized that, while in some countries timely entry rates are skewed in favor of boys or girls, these differences are not marked since this index represents values that, with some exceptions, show little fluctuation around parity. These differences tend to become smaller in connection with primary net enrolment rates. An interesting development in the region, both regarding timely entry and primary enrolment, is a growing tendency of the parity index to favor girls. This trend is not as marked in Latin America as in some Caribbean countries. 12

15 12. Although the urban-rural parity indexes for both the 15 to 19 years old population and 20 to 24 years old population vary widely, all the countries in the region have made important progress between generations, relative to attaining education equality for urban and rural groups. In this respect, Bolivia and Guatemala show the greatest progress. Despite progress made in primary completion, urban-rural equity remains a challenge not only for Bolivia, Guatemala and Nicaragua but, to a large extent, for countries such as Colombia, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras (with a parity index below 0.85 among the 15 to 19 population). On the other hand, among the countries with available information, Chile is the only country in the region that has achieved equity in primary education completion. 13. The region s largest primary completion gaps stem from differences within income groups. Chile and Argentina are the only countries that achieved equity in primary education completion among recent school-leavers in the upper and lower income quintiles. Much as in the case of parity in primary education completion between urban an rural residents, all the countries in the region show significant progress between upper and lower income quintiles for the two reported generations. Although in Guatemala and Bolivia progress between the two generations is evident, equity in primary education completion by income quintile remains an important challenge as well as for Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Peru, and Paraguay. 14. Very few countries collect disaggregated education data by ethnic-racial group so, consequently, this indicator will only apply to a small number of countries. Chile, Brazil and Peru are the only countries that have achieved ethnic equity in primary education completion among recently graduated youths. Even so, progress towards education equity among the various ethnic groups has been evident between the two generations in all the countries of the region. Once again, Guatemala shows the most progress between two generations relative to education parity index among ethnic groups, despite the fact that it is still exhibiting the highest disparity in terms of primary education completion among the indigenous and non-indigenous populations. In fact, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama, face important challenges when it comes to guaranteeing primary education completion for some ethnic groups. In connection with the second Summit of the Americas goal: 15. Only ten countries achieved the goal requiring that at least 75% of the region s youths complete secondary education. While most of the Summit of the Americas countries have made substantial progress in terms of expanding access to secondary education during the reported period, in six countries (Guatemala, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Colombia) net enrolment rates are below 60%. Not unlike the case of primary education, the countries with the lowest rates are precisely those facing the greatest constraints, that is to say, high level of social demands stemming from demographic growth and dependency, higher shares of rural population and lower levels of human and economic development. 16. Countries with different levels of secondary education enrolment find themselves facing the same potential demand. For example, roughly 11% of the population of Belize and Guatemala falls in the 15 to 19 age group (potential demand for secondary). Yet, while in Belize secondary enrolment rate is 72% in Guatemala is scarcely 34%. 17. An additional requirement for this goal is that, along with ensuring access to secondary education, an increasing percentage of students must complete this level of education. Only two countries (Bahamas and Barbados) achieved the goal requiring that at least 75% of the region s youths complete secondary education. However, Chile at 74%, is very close to attaining it. In a significant number of countries (Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Venezuela and Bolivia) over 50% of the 20 to 24 year old population has completed secondary education. At the other extreme, in only four countries (Suriname, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala) this percentage remains below 30%. In the case of Honduras and Suriname, this is true for less than 20%. 13

16 18. Although Chile, Colombia, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic and Mexico show different percentages of secondary education completion among the years of age population, these countries share a substantial growth in secondary education completion, as measured by the differences between the two generations. In all these countries, differences in secondary education completion between the two age groups exceed 5%, and rises to 8.6% in Bolivia. 19. In contrast to primary education completion, where countries facing major difficulties in relation to achieving this goal are precisely those that show the greatest progress between the two generations, in terms of secondary education, two of the countries with the lowest levels of completion are also among those that show the least amount of progress (Honduras and Belize). 20. Based on current enrolment patterns, in only four countries of the region secondary completion rates rises over 75%. In turn, six countries (Paraguay, Venezuela, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Nicaragua, Mexico and the Dominican Republic), have yet to reach the 50% mark. 21. Gender parity in secondary education completion for the younger generation (20 to 24) has been achieved in six countries of the region (Ecuador, Barbados, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and El Salvador). In 14 countries, the parity index favors women and in only two cases (Bolivia and Guatemala) favors men. It should be noted that some countries are moving away from gender equity between the two generations. This is due to a differential increase in secondary completion against men. Suriname, Honduras, Brazil, Panama and Costa Rica show a substantial differential increase between the percentage of men and women completing secondary education. There is evidence of a growing trend in the region, both relative to primary and secondary education, in the sense that the parity index tends to be skewed against men. 22. Secondary education completion between urban and urban areas and the two reported generations shows large variations, while all indexes reveal rural residents to be at a disadvantage. It is also important to note that, practically all the countries in the region have made important progress in terms of achieving equity between the two generations. Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, where education disparities among the urban and rural residents have risen, are exceptions to this general rule. Bolivia, Chile and Mexico, have shown the greatest equity progress in relation to secondary completion in urban and rural areas. It should be noted that these three countries differ greatly with respect to secondary education completion and urban-rural parity indexes. This means that countries with very dissimilar realities have managed to narrow the city-country gap relative to secondary completion. No country in the region, except for Chile, has achieved parity between the residents of urban and rural areas. 23. As was the case for primary education, greater secondary completion disparities in the region can be associated with income-level factors. No country in the region has achieved secondary completion parity among recently graduation cohorts of the upper and lower income quintiles, respectively. Additionally, relative to this index, three groups can be identified among the 20 to 24 year old population. For their part, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia and the Dominican Republic, have the highest parity indexes. Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Panama and Paraguay represent a second group. Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Uruguay, Nicaragua, and Honduras, in turn, show the lowest indexes. 24. As was the case for primary education, very few countries collect disaggregated education data by racial-ethnic origin. Consequently, this indicator will be largely absent among the reporting countries. None of the countries in the region, among those with available information, has achieved parity in secondary completion among ethnic groups of young people likely to have graduated recently. Peru has come closest to attaining this goal. On the other hand, parity indexes in Chile, Bolivia and Brazil are relatively high when compared to parity indexes among 14

17 urban-rural and income quintile populations. Furthermore, relative to education parity among the various ethnic groups, progress is evident between the two generations (20 to 24 and 25 to 29) in seven of the countries in the region. In this respect, Peru, Chile and Bolivia are noteworthy. Yet, no significant changes have been identified in countries such as Brazil, Guatemala and Panama. In connection with the third Summit of the Americas goal: 25. Achieving lifelong learning for all implies according priority to the equitable distribution of learning opportunities. Illiteracy levels in Summit of the Americas countries are still quite heterogeneous. However, the relative magnitudes of the illiterate population among the young population are smaller compared to the total adult population in all cases. This is the result of expansion of primary and secondary educational services in recent decades. 26. An additional feature of the situation of the region s adult population is the inequality observed between urban and rural residents. In all countries for those with available information, the number of years of schooling of the population years of age is significantly higher in urban areas. While in most urban areas the average years of education is eight years or more, in rural areas, that average drops to six years or less. Among countries with very low rural educational achievement (four years or less), Honduras and Brazil are the only countries where women surpass men in number of years of education. Among countries with very low urban educational achievement (eight years or less), Brazil is the only country where women surpass men in number of years of education. 27. In terms of tertiary education participation, the number of students attending this level varies substantially across countries with values between 200 and 5500 enrolments per 100 thousands population. In several Caribbean countries, tertiary education students must enrol abroad to pursue that level of education. 28. In a large number of Summit of the Americas countries, different organizations make available lifelong education programs that offer remedial mechanisms parallel to the formal system that absorb not only adults who have not had educational opportunities, but also accept school-age children who lag behind in grade or must work during regular school hours. Additionally, many Summit of the Americas participating countries, have a wide range of formal and non-formal educational programs for adults aimed at the employment market, and personal development. Adult education (or training), in many cases, is seen as an arena for the formation of workers. Furthermore, many programs are linked to national strategies aimed at responding to the needs of society. In the United States and Canada, where basic and secondary education is covered for the average citizen, lifelong learning is being adopted in the North as a key political, societal and educational organizing principle for the 21st century. In connection with pre-primary education: 29. Several research studies endorse the benefits of quality early childhood care and education (ECCE), particularly for disadvantaged children. Indeed, the time has come to pay closer attention to ECCE, and extend and improve integral early childhood education services, especially for the benefit of vulnerable children. While there is no such thing as a universal model susceptible to be applied to the entire world, regional and global experiences in ECCE initiatives can contribute as important lessons. Quality ECCE programs can provide children with environments conducive to development, while parent participation can minimize socioeconomic disadvantages many children have to face at a very early age. 30. Data currently available reveal that pre-primary enrolment rates vary widely among Summit of the Americas countries. While Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, and Mexico report rates above 80%, in Honduras, Guatemala and 15

18 Paraguay pre-primary enrolment is still below 30%. In all countries, enrolment rate rises quite steeply with age. Among 6, 7 and 8 year old children participation levels are similar in most cases, largely because enrolment rates coincide with the onset of compulsory schooling and children s entrance into primary schools. On the other hand, the Gender Parity Index (GPI) shows that most countries have either achieved parity or display small differences in favor of girls. 31. Most Latin American and Caribbean countries have invested heavily in early childhood care and education. Yet, despite the increase in the number of countries that are enacting laws making school attendance compulsory for children of pre-primary age, these initiatives should be celebrated with cautious optimism since legislation does not necessarily result in higher pre-primary enrolment. In connection with other aspects linked to education enhancement efforts: 32. This report has shown that Summit of the Americas countries display a fairly wide range of investments in the field of education. In 2005, the share of national wealth devoted to public education as a percentage of GDP, fluctuated between 1.8% (Dominican Republic) and 9.4% (Saint Kitts and Nevis). Mexico and El Salvador designated the largest percentages of their budget to education while Uruguay and Jamaica destined the least to that sector. Mexico was the only country where education represented more than 25% of the government overall spending. In countries such as Uruguay, Jamaica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic, the education budget represented less than 10% of the overall public budget. During the period, several countries increased education investments relative to other governmental sectors. 33. Moreover, and in terms of primary education, Summit of the Americas countries show a substantial variation in per-pupil expenditure as a percentage of GDP per capita. These percentages go from 5% in Guatemala to 23% in Barbados and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Comparisons of education expenditure data over time reveal that the largest increases of per-pupil expenditure can be found in Barbados, the United States and Colombia. Conversely, the most significant reductions in this education level were reported in Santa Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Brazil. 34. Secondary education is progressively becoming a major topic in the educational policies of Summit of the Americas countries. Yet, as important as it is, per-pupil expenditure as percentage of GDP per capita fluctuates widely in the region. In 2005, these percentages ranged from 3.7% in Guatemala to 29.7% in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Comparisons of education expenditure data over time reveal that the largest increases of per-pupil expenditure can be found in Barbados. Conversely, the most significant reductions in this education level were reported in Saint Lucia and Costa Rica. 35. Other factors, such as pupil-teacher ratios, are also indicative of the level of investment made by the various countries. Among the Summit of the Americas countries with available information, United States shows the lowest ratio and Nicaragua the highest. In the rest of the reported countries, this ratio varies significantly. Eleven countries exhibit ratios below 20, while for most countries pupils-teacher ratios fluctuate between 20 and 30. In only three countries this ratio exceeded 30. However, in most countries this ratio appears to be shrinking over the years. The most substantial decrease were detected in Guatemala and Costa Rica. Yet, in two countries, Colombia and Bahamas, this ratio increased during 1999 and

19 4 ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES In 1988, at the Second Summit of the Americas (Chile), Heads of State and Government adopted a Regional Plan of Action for Education, stating the three general goals to be met by 2010: 1. to ensure universal access and completion of quality primary education for 100 percent of children 2. access to at least 75 percent of the youth to quality secondary education, with increasing percentages of them completing secondary education 3. the responsibility for providing life-long learning opportunity for the the general population. 4 Today, almost ten years since countries participating at the Summit of the Americas made a commitment to fulfill these goals, we will evaluate which of these challenges have been actually met, how much progress we have made towards achieving these goals in the region, and which goals are still pending. Education is a fundamental human right. It is the key to sustainable development and peace and stability within and among countries, and thus an indispensable means for effective participation in the societies and economies of the twenty-first century. 5 In this sense, by improving opportunities, and the social and economic well-being of individuals and collectivities and empowering them as citizens, education can lead to peace and sustainable development. Having access to education is a first step towards achieving this human right. However, in order to fully exercise this individual rights, individuals must stay in school and benefit from quality education. In the region, primary education is no longer merely about guaranteeing access, as completion and attainment of specific levels of learning is increasingly becoming a must for all students. Thus, the idea of ensuring an education that covers at least the basic learning needs of all the population has been widely accepted in all the countries of the region. 6 Consequently, the first goal of the Summit of the Americas seeks to ensure that all children will not only have access to but also complete quality primary education which will effectively provide greater and better opportunities to succeed in life. The second goal of the Summit, addresses an additional concern: the need to ensure not only universal completion of primary education but, as well, increased access and completion of secondary education. Within a globalized economic context, the probability of accessing more dignified and productive work is inextricably linked to higher levels of knowledge and skills. In this connection, secondary education is essential. Additionally, 4 Plan of Action http: UNESCO (2000). The Dakar Framework for Action. Education for all: meeting our collective commitments. 6 UNESCO (1990). World Conference on Education for All: meeting basic learning needs. A vision for the 1990 decade. 17

20 according to ECLAC, completing at least 12 years of education raises to over 80% 7 the probability of earning an income that will break the cycle of poverty. However, expansion and completion of secondary education in the region has not kept pace with that of primary education, particularly among countries with higher levels of poverty and/or social and economic inequality. Moreover, and as opposed to primary education, access to secondary education shows a much greater variability. Consequently, this goal will pose different challenges for the countries in the region. Likewise, the third goal of the Summit implies that the main objective of any education action is to acquire learning, and that this learning should not be circumscribed to a specific stage in our lives or to the school environment. Learning begins at the moment of birth and takes place in myriad settings, not necessarily at schools. Therefore, the right to education is the right to life-long learning 8. While there is regional consensus on the need to guarantee this right, certifying minimum levels of education for all school-age children remains a thorny issue. Thus, debate on the multiple meanings of life-long learning has been postponed causing national efforts to focus largely on regular and formal education. GOAL 1: UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO AND COMPLETION OF QUALITY PRIMARY EDU- CATION FOR ALL CHILDREN Although the first goal of the Summit of the Americas is also contained in the global Education for All (EFA) 9 initiative and in the framework of the Millennium Declaration 10, it has been adopted with a shorter timeline (2010) than the latter (2015), and intended to reflect the importance of primary education not only in the Americas but beyond. Ensuring universal access to and completion of primary education for all recognizes that education is indeed a human right. Furthermore, from an economics perspective, it acknowledges that education is a tool capable of yielding individual and collective benefits. If better educated individuals are capable of generating greater economic returns, countries with higher levels of education should be able to promote a more dynamic economic development. On the other hand, primary education plays a fundamental role in developing life-long learning skills since basic literacy and numeracy skills are a sine qua non condition to continuing learning and accessing higher levels of education. Therefore, ensuring minimum levels of education for all will not only guarantee increased opportunities for individual citizens but also improve the developmental potential of the countries in the region. Since the 90s, coverage of primary education has made significant move in the region. However, in many countries a combination of poverty and high rates of school failure high repetition and low achievement - have forced these children to drop out before completing this level. In this regard, the analysis should not focus on how many children have access to primary education, but rather, how many actually complete this level, and what quality of education are receiving those who do manage to stay in school. In order to describe the progress of the Summit of the Americas countries relative to this goal, this section is divided into in four parts. First, we analyze the demographic, economic and social changes that have taken place in the 7 ECLAC (1997). Social Panorama of Latin America. UNESCO (2007). Quality Education for All: a humans right issue. Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America Latina and the Caribbean. 9 Documents of the World Conference on EFA, Jomtien, Thailand (1990) may be found at 10 See 18

21 countries of the region in recent years. This is important given the positive or negative impact these changes can have on education outcomes. Second, we present progress towards universal access to and permanence in primary education, as well as gains in completion rates. Lastly, we analyze potential equity problems regarding achievement of this goal. While all children are expected to access and complete primary education, high levels of social and economic inequity in the region make it necessary to analyze progress towards this goal from a demographic and social perspective. A. Demographic, Economic and Social Context of the Americas Prior to analyzing progress toward education goals, careful attention must be given to demographic and economic changes affecting countries, and the extent to which these changes help or hinder the concretion of education objectives. From an economic standpoint, most countries have shown increased levels of relative wealth expressed as Gross Domestic Product per capita (GDP per capita). Graph 1 illustrates percentage change in GDP per capita in the countries of the region for recent years. Graph 4.1 Percentage change in GDP per capita (USD PPP) Percentage variation TT BZ DO SR CL CA CR VC PN PE US AG NI MX EC GD LC JM BR HN KN CO BO SV GY GT DM AR VN UY HT PY Source: World Development Indicators database, The World Bank, See data annex for values and explanatory notes. In only two countries of the region (Trinidad and Tobago, and Belize) growth in relative wealth exceeded 20%, while in fourteen other countries it was moderate (10-20%), among them Canada and the United States, the two countries with the highest level of relative wealth in the region (around US $ per capita). Countries with low levels of relative wealth such as Nicaragua, Peru and Ecuador (less than US $5.500 per capita), are also found in this group. From an education perspective, it is interesting to note how much of this relative economic growth translated not only into improving the education systems, but also, into closing the existing gap between some of the region s education indicators. The economy of eleven countries, six of which are among the poorest in the region, namely, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Honduras and Bolivia (less than US $4.700 per capita), grew between 2% and 10%. 19

22 Yet, some countries in the region experienced economic declines. This is illustrated by Paraguay, with low levels of relative wealth, and Haiti, the poorest country in the region. Both these cases require analyzing the extent to which this economic downturn affected their respective education systems and the gap across countries. While GDP measures relative levels of wealth, the Human Development Index (HDI) also incorporates the concept of well-being (health and education). What this means is that countries with high levels of wealth will not necessarily have a higher HDI than countries that are not as rich but where the population has a better life expectancy at birth and higher school enrolment rates. For example, while United States has the highest GDP per capita in the region, human development (measured in terms of HDI) is higher in Canada. Other countries showing HDI values (HDI >0,80) comparable to United States and Canada are Barbados, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Bahamas, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Antigua and Barbuda. Conversely, of the countries in the region only Haiti shows a low human development index (HDI < 0,49). In the remaining countries, human development levels reach mid-range values (HDIs between 0,50 and 0,79). It is worth noting that countries within the same group as Dominica, Brazil, Saint Lucia and Colombia share a HDI of 0,79 while this index is lower (less than 0,70) in Guatemala, Honduras, Bolivia and Nicaragua. In most of the countries of the region, progress relative to HDI paralleled GDP growth as illustrated in the following graph 11. Countries with low to moderate human development indices such as Guatemala, Bolivia, Ecuador and Haiti, showed the greatest gains (absolute increase in excess of 0,04 points). Although differences in HDI values continue to be significant in the region (Canada 0,95 vs. Haiti 0,48) this evolution can be interpreted as a trend toward closing the current well-being gap evident in the region. Notably, the five countries which showed declinations of their HDIs are located in the Caribbean (Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Bahamas, and Suriname). Graph 4.2 Evolution of the Human Development Index Differences in HDI points NI LC GT BO BR CR EC HT MX CL PN SV PE HN KN AR UY CO DO BB VC PY US TT GY CA VN DM SR JM BS GD AG BZ Source: Human Development Report. UNDP, 2001 and See data annex for values and explanatory notes. 11 In contrast to the graph that examines the evolution of GDP per capita from its percent variation perspective, the following graph that analyzes evolution of the HDI shows absolute increase for each country during the reported period. 12 Data for 2000 and 2005, respectively. 20

23 In addition to examining population changes in terms of wealth and well-being, demographic evolution in the region plays an important role as it helps us to understand how demand for education increases or decreases in the different countries. The following graph shows changes in potential demand for primary education in the region. This indicator measures the total number of school-age children (between the ages of 5 and 14) as a percentage of the total population. The upper portion of the graph shows potential demand for primary education while the lower portion shows declining demand between 1999 and While all countries in the region show a decline in potential demand for primary education, as illustrated in the lower portion of the graph, in several countries demand continues to be very high. In Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua over one fourth of the population has reached school age group (5-14). In turn, Barbados, United States and Trinidad and Tobago show values of less than 15% for this segment of their population. Graph 4.3 Evolution of potential demand for primary education Percentage Diffrential Percentage GT HN NI BO GD BZ PY HT SV PE JM EC DO MX KN CO VN SR LC PN VC GY CR BS BR AR CL UY TT US BB CA Source: ECLAC 2000 and 2006 Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean. See data annex for values and explanatory notes. While it is important to emphasize that decline in potential demand among countries reflects their different stages of demographic transition, it should be noted that where demand for primary education is high, pressure on budget allocations to this educational level should, in theory, be also high relative to countries where demand is lower. However, the following graph shows that the greater the potential demand for primary education in the region, the lower the relative wealth of the countries. This means that countries facing the harshest education challenges related to ensuring access to and completion of primary education to a large proportion of their population, show lower levels of relative growth (measured both in terms of human development and economic wealth per inhabitant). Nevertheless, it should be noted that recent economic, social and demographic changes in the region have followed very different trends. Although Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Bolivia have similar levels of potential demand, GDPs per capita and HDIs, these indicators have evolved dissimilarly. For example, among the countries of the region with similar levels of relative wealth, Nicaragua showed the largest economic growth, but also experienced a substantial drop in potential demand for primary education. Guatemala, in turn, showed modest 21

24 economic growth while its potential demand dropped slightly. This means that the contexts of these two countries evolved differently and that conditions in Nicaragua appear more favorable relative to meeting the Summit of the Americas challenges. Haiti, the country with the lowest level of human development, deserves separate treatment. Despite the fact that potential demand for primary education in the country dropped significantly it still remains relatively high. Furthermore, Haiti not only holds the dubious distinction of having the lowest GDP in the region but, during the period reviewed it also showed a substantial decline in relative wealth. Consequently, Haiti faces a major challenge if it is to achieve the education goals of the Summit by Graph 4.4 Potential demand for primary education and GDP per capita ,000 35,000 30,000 GDP per capita (USD PPP) 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5, Potential demand for primary education Source: World Development Indicators Database, The World Bank, 2007 and 2006 Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean. See data annex for values and explanatory notes. B. Access to and progress in primary education PRIE uses two indicators to measure access to primary education. The net intake rate to first grade of primary education measures the timely entry to initial basic education. For its part, relative participation of primary school age children in primary enrolment is measured by the net enrolment rate in primary education. The following graph shows values for net intake rate to first grade for the period for Summit of the Americas countries. Purple triangles show the last year for which information was available (2005). Orange squares represent data for The line connecting both points represents the evolution of the indicator. As can be seen from the graph, almost 10 years after adoption of the Second Summit of the Americas Plan of Action, timely entry to primary education is an area that still deserves special attention. In 12 countries, the proportion of children entering first grade at the official age is still below 70%, while only in seven countries it exceeds 80%. However, it is important to examine the recent evolution of this indicator. As illustrated in the graph, between 1999 and 2005 timely entry to primary education has evolved positively in nine countries of the region, notably, the Dominican Republic, Barbados, Guatemala and Guyana which have shown increases in excess 22

25 of 10%. In fact, during this period 100% of the child population of Barbados and Guyana achieved timely entry to first grade. Graph 4.5 Evolution of net intake rate to first grade Percentage GY BB AR PN MX EC LC PE DO JM BO US BS GT TT KN BZ SR VC SV GD HN VN DM NI ( ) 1999 ( ) 2005 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). See data annex for values and explanatory notes. The following graph, shows the proportion of entrants to first grade at ages different than official-entry age, represented by the volume of entrants to first grade (gross intake ratio) relative to the proportion of entrants of official age (net intake rate). Broadly speaking, in Latin America this phenomenon is mainly the result of late enrolments to first grade, while in the Caribbean it tends to be associated with early entry to the system. For example, in Honduras practically all children of non-official entry age entering first grade are over-aged. In Dominica, in turn, most children entering the system at the non-official age tend to be younger. 23

26 Graph 4.6 Evolution of non-official age first grade entrants % 90% 80% 70% Percentage 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% NI HN SV DM BZ GT BO VN GD SR EC VC DO TT BS US KN LC PE PN JM MX AR GY BB ( ) 1999 ( ) 2005 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). See data annex for values and explanatory notes. In three countries of the region (Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador) the proportion of non-official age entrants to first grade of primary education is over 50%. The weak evolution of this indicator in many countries of the region deserves particular attention. This could be explained by the high incidence of first-grade repetition and the fact that countries that show the largest proportions of non-official age entrants are less urbanized and show lower levels of relative wealth (GDP per capita) as well as human development (HDI). However, it is important to draw attention to the fact that, in some countries of the region, this indicator has shown a significant progress. As it can be seen in the graph above, in the period, the proportion of entrants to first grade primary of non-official age, fell more than 10% in four countries (Barbados, Guatemala, Guyana and the Dominican Republic). It should be noted that the progress evidenced in countries such as the Dominican Republic and Guatemala which lowered late entry rates by 23% and 13%, respectively is an indication that countries facing economic and social constraints can still attain greater levels of efficiency and equity in terms of access to primary education. In six countries of the region, the proportion of non-official age entrants to first grade primary rose substantially. This phenomenon is not necessarily associated with an increase in the number of late entrants. In fact, this could result from the fact that children under the official age have access to first grade due to, for example, increased efficiency of education systems that have managed to significantly reduce first grade repetition in primary education. The net enrolment rate in primary education constitutes a second indicator of access to this level. While the net intake rate to first grade measures timely entry to first grade primary, the net enrolment rate for primary education measures the proportion of children of official primary education entry age that are actually enroled in some grade of primary education. Irrespective of issues associated with the modest levels of timely entry examined above, generally speaking, a large proportion of primary age children do, in fact, enter this level. In effect, seven countries of the region have attained universal enrolment in primary education as illustrated in the following graph. In 1999, Argentina had already uni- 24

27 versalized access to primary education, a situation that remained stable throughout the period. On the other hand, six countries, Belize, Ecuador, Barbados, Panama, Mexico and Brazil succeeded in enroling most of their official age first grade entrants during 1999 and Graph 4.7 Evolution of net enrolment rate in primary education Percentage AR BZ EC BB PN MX BR LC PE BO SR GT KN UY SV US VN BS HN VC JM TT CL DO PY NI CO DM GD ( ) 1999 ( ) 2005 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). See data annex for values and explanatory notes. Although Summit of the Americas countries have made important progress related with access to primary education, in four countries the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Nicaragua and Colombia, net enrolment rates remain below 90%, this percentage being even lower in Dominica and Grenada (less than 85%). 13 The previous graph shows that some countries stand out in connection with the evolution of primary enrolment rates between 1999 and For example, during this period, net enrolment rates rose 12% in Guatemala, 9% Nicaragua and 8% in Brazil. In Belize, Saint Lucia and Venezuela this indicator rose approximately 6%. Although, countries showing the lowest primary enrolment rates are also those that show the most serious constraints, Nicaragua and Guatemala illustrate that progress is possible even in adverse conditions. It is important to emphasize that a child s opportunity to complete primary education and move on to higher levels is affected by his/her lagging behind in school. In effect, based on available information, it can be concluded that there is a direct relationship between dropouts and students lagging behind in school. An additional requirement that must be met in order to achieve the goal is ensuring that children not only access first grade primary but also progress smoothly through this level. Survival rate to the last grade of primary by showing the percentage of pupils who having entered first grade manage to enrol in the last grade primary (after making some 13 The difference between these rates and the value that accounts for universalization of education (100%) is not indicative of the out-of-school population, since a fraction of these persons are engaged in various education programs at lower (preschool) or higher (secondary) levels, or in non-formal adult programs not included in the calculation of these rates. Their purpose is to describe the enrolment rates associated with a segment of the population attending school at corresponding age-groups. For a discussion on the population served by the education system, see UNESCO/OREALC (2007) The State of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean: guaranteeing quality education for all. UNESCO, Santiago (2007). A regional report, reviewing and assessing progress toward Education for All in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the framework of the Regional Education Project (EFA/PRELAC). 25

28 assumptions) - provides a rough measurement of this phenomenon. Consequently, this rate represents an indicator of the internal efficiency of the education system 14. The following graph presents survival rates to the last grade of primary education in the Summit of the Americas countries for the period. As in previous graphs, purple triangles show the last year for which information was available (2005). Orange squares represent data for The line connecting both points represents the evolution of the indicator. Graph 4.8 Evolution of survival rates to last grade of primary education Percentage BB CL LC AR MX UY VN DM PE CR TT DO GD BO PN CO BR VC PY EC SV GT HN NI ( ) 1999 ( ) 2005 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). See data annex for values and explanatory notes. As illustrated in the graph, in only five countries survival rates to the last grade of primary education exceed 90%: Barbados, Chile, Saint Lucia, Argentina and Mexico. For their part, five other countries still show survival rates below 75%: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Ecuador. This is a sign that serious internal efficiency problems are still affecting the education systems of these countries. Nevertheless, it is revealing to note how this indicator has evolved in recent years. As illustrated in the graph, while in 1999 only four countries had reached 90% internal efficiency, by 2005 two more countries had joined this group. In effect, during this period, survival rates to the last grade of primary education have risen in 16 countries of the region. In this respect, four countries show particularly strong gains (over 10%): Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. The fact that many of the students entering the system do not complete primary education or do so at an over-age, is the result of high repetition and dropout rates. These two phenomena have been part of the region s education agenda and international and regional action plans and policy recommendations. Repetition and dropout increase the number of late finishers and have an adverse impact on the probability of completing primary education For an alternative model of school flow, see Ruben Klein (1998) Measuring internal efficiency of the educational system, Proceedings of the Joint IASS IAOS Conference. 15 For a more detailed discussion, see UNESCO (2007). The State of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean: guaranteeing quality education for all. UNESCO, Santiago (2007). A regional report, reviewing and assessing progress toward Education for All in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the framework of the Regional Education Project (EFA/PRELAC). 26

29 The following graph shows repetition rates in the Summit of the Americas countries for the period As illustrated in the graph, repetition levels vary widely in the region. In countries such as Brazil and Suriname, where close to 20% of first grade school-goers are repeaters, this indicator is extremely high. Yet, between 1999 and 2005 repetition levels in the region dropped significantly. In all countries, with the exception of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Nicaragua, repetition levels were seen to decline while in four countries this drop exceeded 10%. Brazil, where repetition rates fell by more than half (from 48 to 20%), deserves special mention. Graph 4.9 Evolution of percentage of repeaters Percentage GY BO EC CL LC JM GD DM VC CO MX TT PN SV AR PY VN CR UY DO HN PE NI BZ GT BR SR ( ) 1999 ( ) 2005 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). See data annex for values and explanatory notes. Nevertheless, this indicator should be analyzed with caution since it reflects not just the efficiency of the system but, as well, the various policies and education models that have been implemented in the country. For example, during this period, Peru, Bolivia and several Brazilian states implemented automatic promotion policies. Furthermore, several Caribbean countries have adopted age-based promotion. Likewise, in many cases involving repetition, the relationship with academic performance is very relative, since learning assessment criteria may vary considerably across countries - and even within countries in the absence of national repetition standards. Although the various national policies regarding promotion and repetition could compromise the international comparability of this indicator, the percentage of repeaters does, in fact, represent a direct measurement of resource wastage, since a repeating student enrols twice in the same grade. C. Completion of primary education PRIE measures completion in three different ways. First, through current and expected volumes of primary education graduates; second, through the proportion of adults who have completed primary education, and third, based on the current enrolment patterns, by estimating the proportion of persons who completed a specific level at a given point in time. While the first and third indicators use information internal to the education system, the second indicator focuses on the education outcomes of persons who, due to their age, have had the possibility of completing primary education. 27

30 The gross graduation ratio and the expected gross graduation ratio for primary education are two volume indicators. The first indicator measures the volume of persons currently completing primary education as a percentage of the population at the typical graduation age from primary education. In turn, the second indicator provides an estimate hence, expected of the volume of the population estimated to complete the last grade of primary education, given current entry volumes and enrolment patterns. The following graph shows the relative volume of the population currently graduating (bars) and the volume of the population which is expected to graduate (dots) from primary education 16. In cases where these indicators yield values approaching 100%, it may be assumed that the education system involved has the operating capacity to serve all the population that would be theoretically graduating 17. Thus, an indicator approaching or exceeding 100% describes a necessary, albeit not sufficient, condition for achieving the goal. Bearing these limitations in mind, it is interesting to note that relative to primary education seven countries show gross graduation rates below 90%, four report values below 80% and three below 70%. When comparing the operating capacity of the system against expected graduation estimates based on current volumes of enrolment a wide gap between these two indicators, particularly in the case of Costa Rica, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Grenada, becomes immediately evident. This means that, if this trend continues, these countries will encounter great difficulties in terms of serving their total population and guaranteeing completion for all. Graph Gross and expected gross graduation ratios for primary education Gross and expected gross graduation ratios VC KN BB GY DM EC SV LC PN TT VN BZ CO CR BO NI GT GD ( ) Gross graduation ratio ( ) Expected gross graduation ratio Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). See data annex for values and explanatory notes. A second way of measuring primary education completion is looking at the number of persons who, due to their age, have had the possibility of completing primary education. This indicator uses socio-demographic information that shows which proportion of the population has actually finished the education level for the corresponding age brackets. The following graph shows the percentage of 15 to 19 and 20 to 24 years of age population having completed primary education in the region. The first age group (15 to 19) represents individuals in the age group most likely to have 16 In connection with this indicator, the information provided by UIS does not allow making a longitudinal comparison (available starting 2001/2002) 17 This should be understood as expressing a condition, since the educational services are not homogeneously supplied within a country or the transaction costs related to access are not necessarily equivalent. 28

31 recently graduated based on the region s primary education official graduation age. This segment also incorporates an additional margin that accounts for possible repetition and late entry. The second age group (20 to 24) represents individuals in the immediately preceding age bracket, and thus accounts for the generation that should have previously completed primary education. Consequently, when comparing the two age groups, we are comparing how much has the education system evolved in terms of completion of this level of education. As the following graph shows, an important number of countries are very close to universalizing primary education completion. In effect, in seven countries (Bahamas, Barbados, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Suriname and Panama) the proportion of 15 to 19 year olds has already exceeded 95%. An additional seven countries (Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil, Costa Rica, Peru, Venezuela and Colombia) have surpassed the 90% threshold. Yet, relative to ensuring primary completion of recently graduating cohorts, a group of four countries (El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala) are still below 80%. Notably, in Guatemala over 40% of its 15 to 19 population has failed to complete primary education. Graph 4.11 Percentage of 15 to 19 and 20 to 24 year old population that has completed primary education Percentage BS BB CL AR UY SR PN MX EC BR CR PE VN CO PY BO DO BZ SV HN NI GT ( ) ( ) Source: For Caribbean countries: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). For Latin American countries: ECLAC Household Surveys. All information has been mapped to ISCED 97. See data annex for values and explanatory notes. In order to assess progress towards the first goal of the Summit of the Americas, we have compared two generations (15 to 19 and 20 to 24) who had the opportunity to complete primary education, as representative of educational systems at different times. Comparison of these age groups reveals that countries have progressed at different rates, as shown in the graph. Thus, even the four countries facing the greatest constraints relative to universalizing primary education considering that over 20% of their year-old population has yet to complete primary, show a larger proportion of completers among the younger generation when compared to the immediately preceding generation. The cases of Bolivia and Honduras, showing differences of 7% and 4%, respectively, between the two age groups, are worth mentioning. These examples illustrate that, despite adverse circumstances, significant efforts have been made towards improving primary education completion rates among the new generations. However, primary education completion remains an unresolved issued in the region. 29

32 According to UNESCO, approximately 9% of the 15 to 19 year-old population in Latin America and the Caribbean has not completed primary education. This represents a clear violation of the right to education of the region s more than 4.5 million youths 18. Moreover, if we take into account all the population aged 15 or more, we see that 23,6%, or, at least 87.6 million persons 15 or older, have failed to complete primary education. This constitutes a key educational policy challenge in terms of designing educational programs for the youth and adult population. 19 Estimating the proportion of persons completing a specific level at a given point in time, based on current enrolment patterns, is yet another way of measuring primary completion. The following graph illustrates current primary education completion for the countries in the region. While 18 countries show values over 90% 8 of them reaching 100% six countries are still below 90% (Venezuela, El Salvador, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala). Graph 4.12 Current completion rates of primary education Percentage BB BZ BO DM EC PY KN LC AR MX PE CT PN BS CO TT GD DO VN SV VC HN NI GT Source: The State of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean: guaranteeing quality education for all. UNESCO, Santiago See data annex for values and explanatory notes. D. Equity in primary education As important as measuring overall national and regional progress toward achieving universal access, permanence, and completion of primary education if not more so is analyzing, within countries, whether the right to primary 18 Out of these, 42.9% are either Brazilian or Mexican. An explanation for this high percentage can be found in the fact that these countries account for over 54% of the regional population for this age group. In other words, their participation in the total number of youths with incomplete primary education, results from their demographic weight since, proportionately, their completion levels exceed regional averages. For a more detailed discussion, see UNESCO (2007). 19 The State of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean: guaranteeing quality education for all. UNESCO, Santiago (2007). A regional report, reviewing and assessing progress toward Education for All in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the framework of the Regional Education Project (EFA/PRELAC). 20 This indicator uses information derived from a single academic year and estimates completion based on the calculation of the proportion of the population which, at that particular point in time, completes primary education timely or with one or two years either above or below the intended age. This facilitates calculating, for instance, the number of individuals 11 years or older that completed primary education at a given time. The sum of these proportions represents the number of persons that currently complete primary education based on current enrolment patterns. 21 This indicator uses currently available information and assumes enrolments trends will remain relatively stable. For a more detailed discussion of this indicator, see methodological notes in Guadalupe and Taccari (2004) 30

33 education is being exercised equally across the different social groups. In this regard, the present report analyzes progress in terms of equal opportunities among the various social groups identified. Available information has been disaggregated by gender, income levels, area of residence and ethnia. This will allow us to compare the most advantaged and disadvantaged groups in each country, as well as any progress made in terms of closing the education gap between these groups. The following graphs illustrate the evolution of gender parity in terms of access to primary education. While Graph 4.13 shows the evolution of gender parity associated with primary net intake rates for the period 1999 and 2005, Graph 4.14 shows the evolution of primary net enrolment rates. Graph 4.13 Evolution of gender parity index of primary net intake rates SR 1.15 Parity Index BS US HN JM PN VN PE DM SV EC KN DO GD BO TT LC MX AR BB GY BZ GT NI 0.9 VC ( ) 1999 ( ) 2005 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). See data annex for values and explanatory notes. Graph 4.14 Evolution of gender parity index of primary net enrolment rates KN Parity Index SR BZ BS HN DM US DO BO EC VN UY PY PE JM SV BB CO MX BR TT PN AR GD CL NI LC VC GT ( ) 1999 ( ) 2005 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). See data annex for values and explanatory notes. 31

34 It should be emphasized that, while in some countries timely entry rates are skewed in favor of boys or girls, these differences are not marked since this index represents, with some exceptions, values that show little fluctuation around parity. In fact, only three countries have parity indexes over the equity threshold established by UNESCO 22. In Suriname, the parity index is skewed in favour of girls while in Nicaragua and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, this index favours boys. These differences tend to become smaller in connection with primary net enrolment rates. In effect, the gender parity index at this particular educational level fluctuates around a smaller range, while only one country, Saint Kitts and Nevis, has not achieved gender parity net enrolment rates (against boys). These graphs show that, with a few exceptions, by 1999 most countries had achieved gender parity for timely entry to first grade and to primary education in general. Furthermore, countries that evidenced some degree of difficulty in this area, made substantial progress. In terms of timely entry, three countries Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Guatemala which had not attained gender parity in 1999 had achieved it by Guatemala and Grenada, also achieved gender parity in primary enrolment during this period. An interesting development in the region, both regarding timely entry and primary enrolment, is a growing tendency of the parity index to favour girls. This trend is not as marked in Latin America as in some Caribbean countries. The following graph shows the parity index for primary completion in rural and urban areas between two different age groups (15 to 19 and 20 to 24). Thus, as in the analysis of primary completion for all the population, this comparison provides an approximate idea of the evolution of education systems in the region in terms of equity gains associated with primary completion. This is explained by the fact that this first age group (15 to 19) represents the most recent segment of primary school-leavers, according to the region s officially established ages for this level, while the second group (20 to 24), represents the group immediately preceding them. In other words, it represents the generation that should have previously completed primary education. Although the urban-rural parity indexes for both the 15 to 19 years old population (between 0.97 and 0.50) and 20 to 24 years old population (0.94 and 0.49) vary widely, all the countries in the region have made important progress between generations, relative to attaining education equality for urban and rural groups. In this respect, Bolivia and Guatemala show the greatest gains among the residents of these areas as reflected by the parity index of the 15 to 19 and 20 to 24 populations and 0.10, respectively. In Bolivia 89% of urban area residents between the ages of 20 to 24 have completed primary education, while only 63% of their rural counterparts have reached this level of education. This difference is smaller in the 15 to 19 age group, with 94% of the urban population versus 79% of the rural population having completed primary education. A comparison of two generations reveals that the proportion of urban and rural youths who have completed primary education is rising. However, this rise has been steeper in rural areas a fact that eased urban-rural disparity. In Guatemala, in turn, the proportion of urban residents between the ages of 20 and 24 who completed primary is as twice as that of their rural peer-age group. That is to say, 75% of the urban population between the ages of 20 and 24 has completed primary education as opposed to only 37% of their rural counterparts. The parity index for the 15 to 19 group is 0.6 (a 0.1 point difference relative to the previous generation). In terms of the 15 to 19 group, 75% of the urban population has completed primary education versus only 45% of the rural population. Therefore, 22 This criterion is used in the following documents: Universal Primary Completion in Latin America: are we really so near the goal? UNESCO (2004), and The State of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean: guaranteeing quality education for all. UNESCO, Santiago (2007). A regional report, reviewing and assessing progress toward Education for All in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the framework of the Regional Education Project (EFA/PRELAC). 32

35 the proportion of rural youths who completed primary education (37% among the 20 to 24 group and 45% among the 15 to 19 group) grew substantially while no growth was observed among the urban population. This translated into increased equity between city and country communities. Graph Parity index of primary completion rates for the 15 to 19 and 20 to 24 year old populations, by urban-rural area Parity Index CL MX CR EC PN DO PY BR PE CO BO BZ SV HN 0.4 GT NI Source: ECLAC Household Surveys. All information has been mapped to ISCED 97 See data annex for values and explanatory notes. Nicaragua s case is similar to that of Guatemala where the number of urban residents between the ages of 20 and 24 who have completed primary education is as twice as that of their rural peer-age group. However, in contrast to Guatemala, Nicaragua shows practically no progress relative to the younger generation (15 to 19) as reflected by the small difference between the parity index of these two generations (0.49 and 0.50, respectively). Despite progress made in primary completion, urban-rural equity remains a challenge not only for Bolivia, Guatemala and Nicaragua but, to a large extent, for countries such as Colombia, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras (with a parity index below 0.85 among the 15 to 19 population). On the other hand, Chile is the only country in the region that has achieved equity in primary education completion. ( ) 15 to 19 ( ) 20 to 24 The following graph shows the parity index associated with primary education completion by income quintiles and for two age groups (15 to 19 and 20 to 24). As in the previous case, this comparison provides a general idea of the evolution undergone by the region s education systems in terms of primary completion equity according to income. As shown in the graph, the region s largest primary completion gaps stem from differences within income groups. Parity indexes are seen to range from 0.98 (Chile, 15 to 19 population) to 0.31 (Guatemala, 20 to 24 population). 33

36 Graph 4.16 Parity index of primary completion rates for the 15 to 19 and 20 to 24 year old populations, by income (lower/upper quintile) Parity Index CL AR VN UY EC CO CR DO PN MX BR PY PE BO SV HN GT NI ( ) 15 to 19 ( ) 20 to 24 Source: ECLAC Household Surveys. All information has been mapped to ISCED 97. See data annex for values and explanatory notes. Chile and Argentina are the only countries that achieved equity in primary education completion among recent school-leavers in the upper and lower income quintiles. Much as in the case of parity in primary education completion between urban an rural residents, all the countries in the region show significant progress between the two reported generations - upper and lower income quintiles. Once again, Bolivia and Guatemala have shown the most progress in education equity between the populations of the two income quintiles. In terms of their 15 to 19 and 20 to 24 populations, the difference between education parity indexes of the lower and upper quintiles is 0.23 and 0.14, respectively. In Bolivia s case, the proportion of upper income quintile individuals between the ages of 20 and 25 who have completed primary education is as twice as that of the peer-age group from lower income quintiles. In other words, and relative to the 20 to 24 year olds, while 95% of the upper income quintile population has completed primary education, this in only true for 51% of the lower income quintile population. For its part, the difference between the 15 to 19 year old population has decreased, which means that the parity index rose from 0.54 to In terms of this age group, 95% of the upper income population has completed primary education versus 73% of the lower income population. In Bolivia, the proportion of disadvantaged youths who completed primary education rose, while no gains or losses were detected among the country s upper income youths. In Guatemala, the proportion of the 20 to 24 year old population from the upper income quintile who completed secondary education is 3 times that of the lower income quintile. Thus, relative to the 20 to 24 population, while 83% of the upper income group has completed primary this is true for only 25% of the lower income group. As regards the 15 to 19 year old population, 82% of the upper income population completed primary education versus 36% of the lower income group. While income-related disparities persist, an increase in the number of disadvantaged youths who completed primary education caused the parity index to rise. In the poorest sectors, 25% of Guatemalan 20 to 24 year olds completed primary, while this proportion rose to 36% among the younger generation (15 to 19). 34

37 Although in Guatemala and Bolivia progress between the two generations is evident, equity in primary education completion by income quintile, remains an important challenge, as well as for Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Peru, and Paraguay (parity indexes below 0.85 for the 15 to 19 year old population). The following graph shows gender parity index in primary completion by ethnic origin 23 for two age groups (15 to 19 and 20 to 24). As in previous analyses, this comparison provides a rough estimation of the extent to which the region s national education systems have evolved relative to equity in primary education completion ethnic origin. As the graph illustrates, very few countries collect disaggregated education data by ethnic origin and, consequently, this indicator will be largely absent among the reporting countries. Ethnic parity indexes in primary education completion range from 0.98 (Chile, Brazil and Peru for the 15 to19 population) to 0.51 (Guatemala, for the 20 to 24 population). Chile, Brazil and Peru are the only countries that have achieved ethnic equity in primary education completion among recently graduated youths. Even so, progress towards education equity among the various ethnic groups has been evident between the two generations (15 to 19 and 20 to 24) in all the countries of the region. Once again, Guatemala shows the most progress between two generations relative to education parity index among ethnic groups, despite the fact that it still exhibits the highest disparity in terms of primary education completion among the indigenous 24 and non-indigenous populations. In fact, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama, face important challenges when it comes to guaranteeing primary education completion for some ethnic groups (parity indexes below 0.85 for the 15 to 19 year old population). Graph Parity index of primary completion rates for the 15 to 19 and 20 to 24 year old populations, by ethnic group Parity index BR CL PE EC BO PY PN NI 0.6 GT ( ) 15 to 19 ( ) 20 to 24 Source: ECLAC Household Surveys. All information has been mapped to ISCED 97. See data annex for values and explanatory notes. As we have seen, access to primary education in the countries of the region is close to achieving universal status. Yet, completion of this educational level is not evenly distributed among the various social groups, a fact that affects the disadvantaged social groups. 23 Ethnic groups were classified in two groups: indigenous or afro-descendant and non-indigeneous. 24 Includes afro-descendants. 35

38 GOAL 2: ACCESS FOR AT LEAST 75 PERCENT OF YOUNG PEOPLE TO QUALITY SECONDARY EDUCATION, WITH INCREASING PERCENTAGES OF YOUNG PEOPLE WHO COMPLETE SECONDARY EDUCATION The second goal of the Summit of the Americas as did the first also resonates with worldwide goals adopted both by the Education for All initiative 25 and the Regional Framework of Action on Education for All in the Americas 26, and reflects the growing importance of secondary education in a global and regional context. This goal states that by 2010 all countries in the region must ensure that at least 75% of their young population will be enroled in quality secondary education with growing completion rates. Ensuring growing access to quality secondary education in the region and, consequently, guaranteeing to many of the youth population the opportunity of acquiring more complex skills and knowledge, translates into a better possibility of having access to dignified and more productive work. According to ECLAC, 12 years of schooling which in most countries is the amount of time required to complete secondary education represents the minimum education capital that will ensure well-being. Twelve years of schooling means that the likelihood of finding an occupation that will ensure an adequate life-style will be higher than 80% 27. Therefore, secondary education is key in defining insertion into the labour market while it substantially increases the possibility of staying above the poverty line. By the same token, ensuring high levels of access to secondary education and primary education as well will guarantee not only better opportunities for individuals but also increase the probability of economic and human development in the region. However, expansion and completion of secondary education has not kept pace with primary education. In general, countries with higher poverty levels or more severe social and economic gaps will face more daunting challenges than the rest of the countries. In order to describe progress made by the Summit of the Americas countries relative to this goal, this section is structured around three parts. First, we present an analysis of progress achieved toward secondary education access, and how it relates to the countries demographic, social and economic contexts. There follows a presentation on progress accomplished in terms of secondary completion levels. Lastly, potential equity issues associated with the fulfillment of this goal and the improvements made in the region s quality of education provision are examined. E. Access to secondary education The net enrolment rate for secondary education, a parameter that measures the relative share of official-age secondary education groups expressed as a percentage of the corresponding population, represents an indicator of access to this level. The following graph presents net enrolment rates for the period in the Summit of the Americas countries. Purple triangles show the last year for which information was available (2005). Orange squares represent data for The line connecting both points represents the evolution of the indicator. 25 Documents on the World Confrence on Education for All held in Jomtien, Thailand (1990) can be found at efa/index.shtml 26 Education for All in the Américas. Regional Framework of Action. Santo Domingo, February, biblioteca/documentos/ept_santo_domingo_marco_accion_americas.pdf 27 This concept is based on the existence of an educational threshold. From an operational standpoint, it is feasible to measure the threshold that will guarantee escaping poverty. Currently, it has been defined as 12 years of formal schooling. For more details, see ECLAC (2000): Social Panorama of Latin America

39 Graph 4.18 Evolution of net enrolment rates for secondary education Percentage BB DM US KN BS AR GD JM BR SR BO BZ PE TT LC MX VC PN VN CO SV DO EC NI GT ( ) 1999 ( ) 2005 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). See data annex for values and explanatory notes. As can be seen in the graph, ten countries have guaranteed access to secondary education to at least 75% of their youths. In effect, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname and United States, have managed to enrol at least 75% of their secondary school population. With the exception of Barbados, Argentina, United States and Jamaica, the rest of the countries accomplished this during the period Although the great majority of countries have made important progress towards expanding access to secondary education in the reported period, six countries (Guatemala, Nicaragua, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Colombia) show net enrolment rates below 60% for this education level. In the case of Nicaragua and Guatemala, these rates do not exceed 50%. Between the years 1999 and 2005, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Bahamas, Brazil, Belize, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, show a high evolution of their secondary education enrolment rates. For example, during this period, secondary net enrolment rates rose 25% in Saint Kitts and Nevis and 23% in the Dominican Republic. Likewise, growth of net enrolment rates fluctuated between 0.5% (United States) and 25% (Saint Kitts and Nevis). As was the case for primary education, countries showing the lowest rates of access are precisely those facing major constraints, that is to say, higher levels of social demand stemming from growth and demographic dependency, and greater proportions of rural population, as well as lower levels of economic and human development. The following graph explores the relationship between access to secondary education and potential demand for this educational level, generally speaking, the higher the demand for secondary education, the lower the net enrolment rate. 37

40 Graph 4.19 Secondary net enrolment rate and demand for secondary education Net enrolment rate Potential demand for secondary education Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2005) and 2006 Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean. See data annex for values and explanatory notes. However, the same level of potential demand can be found in countries with different levels of secondary enrolment rates. For example, approximately 11% of the population of Belize and Guatemala (potential demand for education) is between 15 and 19 years of age. Yet, while Belize s secondary enrolment rate is 72%, Guatemala s is only 34%. This phenomenon can be partly explained by the large differences in the countries wealth, as shown in the graph below. In fact, while in Belize GDP per capita is 6,300 USD PPP, in Guatemala it amounts to 4,000 USD PPP. It is also important to note that this is not a direct relationship. Although the following graph suggests the existence of a relationship between GDP per capita and secondary enrolment, countries with similar levels of wealth could have different enrolment levels. For example, while in Dominica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines GDP per capita approaches 5,700 USD PPP, enrolment is 92% and 64%, respectively. 38

41 Graph 4.20 Secondary net enrolment rate and GDP per capita (PPP) Enrolment rate GDP per capita (USD PPP) Source: 2005 UNESCO Institute for Statistics and World Development Indicators Database, The World Bank, See data annex for values and explanatory notes. F. Secondary education completion Achieving this goal requires an additional condition, since ensuring access to secondary education for young people must also be accompanied by increasing levels of completion. Measures of secondary education completion are based on the number of individuals who, due to their age, have had the possibility of completing this education level. As with primary completion, this indicator uses socio-demographic data that identifies the proportions of the various age groups that have actually completed those levels of education. The following graph shows the percentage of 20 to 24 and 25 to 29 years of age population having completed secondary education in the region. The first age group (20 to 24) represents individuals in the age group most likely to have recently graduated based on the region s secondary education official graduation age. This segment also incorporates an additional margin that accounts for possible repetition and late entry. The second age group (25 to 29) represents individuals in the immediately preceding age bracket, and thus accounts for the generation that should have completed secondary education before the first group. Consequently, when comparing the two age groups, we are comparing how much has the education system evolved in terms of completion of this level of education. As shown in the graph, only two countries (Bahamas and Barbados) achieved the goal requiring that at least 75% of the region s youths complete secondary education. However, Chile is very close to attaining it, considering that 74% of Chilean 20 to 24 year olds has effectively completed secondary education. In a significant number of countries (Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Venezuela and Bolivia) over 50% of the 20 to 24 year old population has completed secondary education. At the other extreme, in only four countries (Suriname, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala) this percentage remains below 30%. In the case of Honduras and Suriname, this is true for less than 20%. 39

42 Graph Percentage of 20 to 24 and 25 to 29 year old population that has completed secondary education Percentage BB BS CL AR PE CO PN VN BO BR EC DO PY CR MX UY BZ SV NI GT HN SR Source: For Caribbean countries: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). For Latin American countries: ECLAC Household Surveys. All information has been mapped to ISCED 97 See data annex for values and explanatory notes. In order to gauge progress made by countries towards the second goal of the Summit of the Americas, we have compared two generations (20 to 24 and 25 to 29) as representative of the internal efficiency of education systems during two different recent periods. As the previous graph illustrates, countries have moved forward at different rates, as comparison between the two age groups seem to indicate.. Although Chile, Colombia, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic and México show different percentages of secondary completion among the years of age population, these countries share a substantial growth in secondary completion, as measured by the differences between the two generations. In all these countries, differences in secondary completion between the two age groups exceed 5%, and rises to 8.6% in Bolivia. In terms of secondary education and in contrast to primary completion, where countries facing major difficulties in relation to achieving this goal are precisely those that show the greatest progress between the two generations, two of the countries with the lowest levels of completion are also among those that show the least amount of progress. Honduras shows no difference between the two generations (20 to 24 and 25 to 29) relative to the proportion of secondary school leavers. Suriname, for its part, shows a 1.3% rise. El Salvador reported a modest 0.5% gain which means that while 36% of the 25 to 29 year old population has completed secondary, only 36.5% of the previous generation (20 to 24) can make the same claim. ( ) 20 to 24 ( ) 25 to 29 Another way of measuring secondary completion is to examine current enrolment patterns and, as in the case of primary education, estimating the proportion of individuals who completed a specific level at a given point in time. 28 The following graph shows current secondary completion for the countries in the region. In only four countries, expected primary completion rises over 75%. In turn, six countries (Paraguay, Venezuela, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Nicaragua, Mexico and the Dominican Republic), have yet to reach the 50% mark. 28 See footnotes 20 and 21 for technical information on this indicator. 40

43 Graph 4.22 Current completion rates of secondary education Percentage BB GD DM PE LC TT BS KN CL BO AR BZ PN PY VN VC NI MX DO Source: The State of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean: guaranteeing quality education for all. UNESCO, Santiago See data annex for values and explanatory notes. G. Equity in secondary education The region of the Americas is home to a substantial number of countries with high levels of economic and social disparities. Given the importance secondary education policies have received in recent years, looking into the equity dimension of secondary completion within countries becomes essential. In order to determine whether progress towards secondary education is being achieved equally in each country across the different social groups, this report analyzes as was the case with primary education progress in terms of equal opportunities among the various social groups. As was the case for primary education, the available information has been disaggregated by gender, income levels, area of residence and ethnia. This will allow us to compare the most advantaged and disadvantaged groups in each country, as well as any progress made in terms of closing the education gap between these groups. The following graphs show gender parity in secondary completion for men and women (Graph 22), urban and rural residents (Graph 23), indigenous 29 and non-indigenous populations (Graph 24), and persons with different income levels (Graph 25), of two age groups (20 to 24 and 25 to 29). As in the analysis of total population, this comparison represents an approximation of how much the regional education systems have evolved in terms of secondary completion equity. The first age group (20 to 24) represents the most recent segment of secondary school-leavers according to the region s officially established ages for this level, while the second group (25 to 29), represents the group immediately preceding them. In other words, it accounts for the generation that should have completed primary education at an earlier time. The following graph shows gender parity in secondary completion for the 20 to 24 (between 1.41 and 0.83) and 25 to 29 year old population (1.34 and 0.88). Based on available information, six countries of the region (Ecuador, Barbados, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and El Salvador) have achieved gender parity in secondary completion among 29 The indigenous populations include indigenous and afro-descendant groups. 41

44 the 20 to 24 year olds. In fourteen countries the GPI favors women (over 1.05) and in scarcely two cases (Bolivia and Guatemala) it favors men (below 0.95). 30 Graph Gender parity index of secondary completion rates for the 20 to 24 and 25 to 29 year old populations Parity Index SR HN NI VN DO UY BR PN AR CR BZ CO BS CL EC BB MX PY PE SV GT BO Source: For Caribbean countries: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). For Latin American countries: ECLAC Household Surveys. All information has been mapped to ISCED 97. See data annex for values and explanatory notes. It should be noted that some countries are moving away from gender equity between the two generations. This is due to a differential increase in secondary completion against men. Suriname, Honduras, Brazil, Panama and Costa Rica show a substantial differential increase between the percentage of men and women completing secondary. For example, in Honduras 14.6% of the years of age population that completed secondary were men, while 20.4% were women (parity index 1.39). Values for the previous generation are 15.3% and 19.5%, respectively (parity index 1.27). Clearly, the difference between men and women has widened. This illustrates a growing trend in the region. Both relative to primary and secondary education, the parity index tends to be skewed against men. Furthermore, it is important to highlight the fact that both Peru and El Salvador achieved gender parity during the analyzed period. However, among the 25 to 29 generation there is evidence of disparity against women (parity index of 0.91 and 0.93, respectively). Nevertheless, among the 20 to 24 generation parity was achieved (parity index of 0.99 and 0.98, respectively). The following graph shows the parity index for secondary completion among residents of urban and rural areas for two age groups (20 to 24 and 25 to 29). While Chile shows the highest parity index for the younger generation (20 to 24), no country has achieved equity for their urban and rural residents. Likewise, Honduras shows the lowest parity index among the urban and rural 20 to 24 year old population (parity index of (0.13). In other words, while 31% of the urban population has completed secondary education, only 4% of the rural population has completed this level. This means that, in Honduras, secondary completion is 7.5 higher in urban areas. 0.0 ( ) 20 to 24 ( ) 25 to According to UNESCO a parity index between.095 and 1.05 establishes equity. This criterion is used in the following documents: Universal Primary Completion in Latin America: are we really so near the goal? UNESCO (2004), and The State of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean: guaranteeing quality education for all. UNESCO, Santiago (2007). A regional report, reviewing and assessing progress toward Education for All in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the framework of the Regional Education Project (EFA/PRELAC). 42

45 Graph Parity index of secondary completion rates for the 20 to 24 and 25 to 29 year old populations, by urban-rural area Parity Index DO CL CR MX PY PN BO PE BZ CO EC BR SV GT NI HN 0.0 Source: For Caribbean countries: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). For Latin American countries: ECLAC Household Surveys. All information has been mapped to ISCED 97. See data annex for values and explanatory notes. As illustrated in the graph, the parity index between individuals who have completed secondary education in urban and rural areas, both relative to the 20 to 24 year old population (between 0.59 and 0.13) and to the 25 to 29 population (0.66 and 0.11), shows large variations. Moreover, all indexes reveal rural residents to be at a disadvantage. It is also important to note that, practically all the countries in the region have made important progress in terms of achieving equity between the two generations. Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, where education disparities among the urban and rural residents have risen, are exceptions to this general rule. Bolivia, Chile and Mexico, where the difference between the parity index of the 20 to 24 and 25 to 29 populations has dropped by 0.19, 0.15 and 0.13, respectively, have shown the greatest equity gains in relation to secondary completion in urban and rural areas. It should be noted that these three countries differ greatly with respect to secondary education completion and urban-rural parity indexes. While approximately 78% of Chile s urban population between 20 and 24 has completed secondary education, in Mexico only 48% of this age group has done so. Likewise, 46% of Chile s rural population has completed secondary education compared to only 25% in Mexico. This means that countries with very dissimilar realities managed to narrow the city-country gap relative to secondary completion. The following graph shows gender parity in secondary completion by income quintiles for two age groups (20 to 24 and 25 to 29). As in the analysis of urban-rural secondary completion, this comparison represents an approximation of how much the region s education systems have evolved in terms of secondary completion, relative to the economic status of the population. ( ) 20 to 24 ( ) 25 to 29 As illustrated in the graph, the greatest secondary completion gaps reflect income considerations. Parity indexes vary widely from 0.54 (Chile, 20 to 24 population) to almost zero (Honduras, 25 to 29 population). No country in the region has achieved secondary completion parity among recently graduating cohorts of the upper and lower income quintiles, respectively. In this respect, three groups can be identified among the 20 to 24 year old population. Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia and the Dominican Republic, have parity indexes approaching or 43

46 exceeding 0.5, while in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Panama and Paraguay this index approaches or exceeds 0.2. Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Uruguay, Nicaragua, and Honduras, in turn, have indexes below 0.18, with the lowest value (0.03) found in Honduras, the country with the greatest disparity relative to secondary conclusion. While 43% of the upper income quintile has completed secondary education in this country, this is true for only 1.2% of the lower income quintile. This means that, in Honduras, secondary completion is 35 time higher among the well to do. Graph Parity index of secondary completion rates for the 20 to 24 and 25 to 29 year old populations, by income (upper/lower quintile) Parity Index CL AR VN CO DO 0.2 PE EC PN CR PY BR SV BO MX UY GT NI HN 0.0 ( ) 20 to 24 ( ) 25 to 29 Source: For Caribbean countries: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). For Latin American countries: ECLAC Household Surveys. All information has been mapped to ISCED 97. See data annex for values and explanatory notes. However, in all the countries of the region, progress between the two generations has been made relative to education equity among the upper and lower income quintiles. Vastly different countries such as Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Argentina and Venezuela show important gains in terms of achieving secondary completion equity for the population of these opposite income quintiles. The following graph shows gender parity in secondary completion for the 20 to 24 and 25 to 29 year old population, by ethnic group 31. As in the previous analysis, this comparison represents an approximation of how much the region s education systems have evolved in terms of parity in secondary completion, relative to the population s ethnic group. As was the case for primary education, very few countries collect disaggregated education data by racial-ethnic origin and, consequently, this indicator will be largely absent among the reporting countries. Ethnic parity indexes in secondary completion vary between 0.94 (Peru, 20 to 24 population) and 0.18 (Nicaragua, 25 to 29 population). 31 Ethnic groups were classified in two groups: indigenous or afro-descendant and non-indigeneous. 44

47 Graph Parity index of secondary completion rates for the 20 to 24 and 25 to 29 year old populations, by ethnic group Parity Index PE BR CL BO EC PY GT NI PN 0.0 Source: For Caribbean countries: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). For Latin American countries: ECLAC Household Surveys. All information has been mapped to ISCED 97. See data annex for values and explanatory notes. None of the countries in the region has achieved parity in secondary completion among ethnic groups of young people likely to have graduated recently. Peru, with a parity index among the 20 to 24 year old population of 0.94, has come closest to attaining this goal. On the other hand, parity indexes in Chile, Bolivia and Brazil are relatively high when compared to parity indexes among urban-rural and income quintile populations considering that the first index approaches values of 0.8 for all three countries. ( ) 20 to 24 ( ) 25 to 29 Lastly, relative to education parity among the various ethnic groups, progress is evident between the two generations (20 to 24 and 25 to 29) in seven of the countries in the region. In this respect, Peru, Chile and Bolivia are noteworthy. Yet, no significant changes have been identified in countries such as Brazil, Guatemala and Panama. GOAL 3. OFFERING LIFELONG LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES TO THE SOCIETY The third goal of the Summit of the Americas views education as a continuing activity in the lives of human beings, and one that is not restricted exclusively to the formal modalities of learning taught in schools. This comprehensive view of education recognizes that human beings are, first and foremost, learning beings. In this respect, acknowledging that lifelong learning is essential to the human condition is not enough, for we must also ensure and guarantee its provision. In the region s developing countries, current coverage does not guarantee universal access to basic education while, in some countries, this is also true of primary education. Furthermore, many of these countries still face major challenges in terms of providing basic skills to their adult population and, quite often, to their youths. This is why it is important exploring the characteristics and meaning of lifelong learning opportunities to the countries of the region. For their part, the region s industrialized countries are providing full coverage to their primary, secondary and tertiary student population. Both in United States and Canada, for example, practically 40% of the year old population has completed some type of higher education and scarcely 5% has not gone beyond primary education OECD (2002). Education at a Glance. 45

48 This section has been divided into three parts. The first part presents the underlying importance of lifelong education. The second part analyses lifelong education for the Summit of the Americas countries. It identifies the education profile of the adult population as well as specific experiences drawn from existing lifelong education programs. A. The Importance of Lifelong Learning The concept of lifelong learning can be traced back to the 1960s as a response to the lack of education opportunities to those who did not benefit from formal education during childhood and youth. UNESCO was the major force in promoting global discussions of lifelong learning, strongly promoting the idea that education should occur universally and across the life span. Lifelong learning is an essential element for human development. It may take different forms in formal and informal institutions. It may cover adult literacy, life skills education, work-skills and basic education for out of school children. The goal of lifelong learning for all denotes giving priority to equitable distribution of learning opportunities. According to UNESCO s Report on Education for the 21st Century, the four pillars of education are: learning to be, learning to know, learning to do, and learning to live together. Lifelong learning reinforces those four pillars, as it is an important component of individual inclusion and active citizenship (OECD, 1998). It has the potential to increase current and future possibilities for individuals and communities and enable people to decide what is important and how to implement changes that affect their lives. In addition, lifelong learning improves productivity and individual earning power. In the 21st century, socio-economic forces push the lifelong learning approach. The changing nature of work as a result of globalization and technological change emphasize the need for continual upgrade and change of life skills throughout life. Educational attainment also increases participation in the workforce. For the economy, there is a positive relationship between educational attainment and economic growth (OECD, 2004). B. Lifelong Learning in Latin America and the Caribbean Low levels of completion of primary school and low participation in secondary education reinforce the need for basic education during adolescence and adulthood in many Latin American and Caribbean countries. As Graph 4.26 demonstrates, levels of illiteracy in Summit of the Americas countries are still quite heterogeneous. Percentages of the illiterate in the 15 years and over population vary between 0.3% in the case of Barbados and almost 45% in Haiti, with four countries presenting levels above 20% (Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Haiti). The relative magnitudes of the illiterate population among the young population are smaller compared to the total adult population in all cases. This is the result of expansion of primary and secondary educational services in recent decades. 46

49 Graph 4.27 Illiteracy rate Percentage HT NI GT HN SV DO BO JM BR PE MX CO EC PN VN PY BZ BS CR CL AR UY TT GY BB ( ) 15+ ( ) Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Note: 2005 estimates by UIS. See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. Although there is little evidence of unreserved pursuit of lifelong learning strategies at the system level, many education programs, administered by different organizations, offer remedial mechanisms parallel to the formal system that absorb not only adults who have not had educational opportunities, but also accept school-age children who are behind in grade or must work during regular school hours. Many programs offer certification of primary and secondary education for young people years of age in some MERCOSUR countries. In the year 2000, of the total in-school population of these ages, almost 2% in Chile, slightly less than 5% in Argentina and Brazil, and almost 14% in Paraguay were enroled in such programs for adults 33 (UNESCO, 2005). Most countries in Graph 4.28 have achieved gender parity or have shown gender disparity in favor of women among adults and youth. However, data also show gender disparities in favor of men in Jamaica, Bahamas and Uruguay, although there has been an increase in gender parity among those in the age group. Conversely, in some countries a situation of parity changed to situations in which the male population is at a disadvantage (Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Guyana, Ecuador, Paraguay, and El Salvador). 33 Educational MERCOSUR Indicator System (2005) Comparative analytic-descriptive study of MERCOSUR educational sector. 47

50 Graph 4.28 Gender parity index (GPI) of illiteracy rates BO 3 PE 2.5 Parity Index PN SV PY EC GY MX GT TT 1 BB CR BZ HN CO AR BR DO NI CL HT VN 0.5 JM BS UY 0 ( ) 15 + ( ) Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. Regarding the average number of years of schooling of the population years of age in urban and rural areas, Graph 4.29 indicates years of education in urban areas greatly surpasses that of rural areas in all countries. While in most urban areas the average years of education is eight years or more, in rural areas, that average falls to 6 years or less. The largest urban-rural gaps occur in Bolivia, Guatemala, and El Salvador. The smallest gaps are observed in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Mexico. Graph Average number of years of schooling for the population by area of residence Years CL PN PE AR EC UY PY CR MX CO BO DO SV VN BR HN GT NI ( ) Urban ( ) Rural Source: ECLAC, 2006 Social Panorama of Latin America. Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. As Graph 4.30 demonstrates, only Chile, Peru, Panama, Argentina, Ecuador and Bolivia, in the case of the urban male population, and Chile, Peru, Panama, and Argentina, in the case of the urban female population, have 10 or 48

51 more years of schooling. In Panama and Argentina, women have more years of schooling than men. Conversely, Guatemala and Bolivia show the largest gender disparities in years of schooling. Among countries with low urban educational achievement (eight years or less), Brazil is the only country where women surpass men in number of years of education. Graph Average number of years of schooling for the population years of age in urban areas by gender Years CL PE PN AR EC BO PY MX CR UY CO SV DO VN GT HN BR NI ( ) F ( ) M Source: ECLAC, 2006 Social Panorama of Latin America. Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. As Graph 4.31 demonstrates, only Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, Panama, and the Dominican Republic in the case of the rural male population, and Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic, in the case of the rural female population, have six or more years of schooling. In Panama and the Dominican Republic, women have more years of schooling than men. Conversely, Peru, Guatemala and Bolivia show the largest gender disparities in years of schooling. Among countries with very low rural educational achievement (four years or less), Honduras and Brazil are the only countries where women surpass men in number of years of education. 49

52 Graph Average number of years of schooling for the population years of age in rural areas by gender Years CL CR MX PE PN DO PY BO CO SV HN BR NI GT ( ) F ( ) M Source: ECLAC, 2005 Social Panorama of Latin America. Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. Graph 4.32 shows enrolment in tertiary education in several Summit of America countries. The United States and Argentina (around 5,500 students per 100,000 inhabitants), have the largest number of students enroled. In most countries, the number of in-country enrolments is similar to the number of students who are residents enroled in institutions in-country or outside the country. In countries such as Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Dominica, tertiary education students must enrol in institutions in other countries to pursue that level of education. Graph 4.32 Number of Students in Tertiary School per 100 Thousand People ,000 Number of Students / 100 thousands 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 US AR PN BO VN CL DO PE UY CR CO PY MX BR NI SV HN TT SR GY DM GT KN LC BZ VC GD JM ( ) In-Country Enrolment ( ) Residents enrolment Source: UNESCO, 2007 The State of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean. Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. 50

53 In addition to providing basic education and meeting the different needs of urban and rural populations, lifelong learning in Latin America must provide educational opportunities to meet the demands of the labor market. Many countries that participated in the Summit of the Americas have a wide range of formal and non-formal educational programs for adults aimed at the employment market, and personal development. 34 Adult education (or training), in many cases, is seen as an arena for the formation of workers. Furthermore, many programs are linked to national strategies aimed at responding to the needs of society, and include literacy training, education and employment, citizen participation, human rights, education for rural workers and indigenous peoples, youth education, education and gender, and education, local and sustainable development. Those programs require cooperation among various actors and organizations and inter-institutional arrangements that include government agencies, particularly education ministries and civil society organizations. Examples of such programs, include: the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Council (TVET Council) in Barbados, the Instituto Nacional de Formación y Capacitación Laboral [National Labor Training Institute] (INFOCAL) in Bolivia, the skill-based Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial [National Industrial Training Service] (SENAI) in Brazil, and the Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje [National Training Service] (SENA) in Colombia, among others (UNESCO, 2005). The Instituto Salvadoreño de Formación Profesional [El Salvador Professional Training Institute] (INSAFORP) focuses on skill-based employment training and the design and promotion of a National Training and Certification Program. It also promotes greater interchange between companies and training services. Skills standardization and certification promoted by the Institute provides useful and timely information on what individuals must learn to meet the labor market requirements and the demands of a market economy. The Institute also seeks to modernize and adapt training. A point to be noted in this case is that INSAFORP does not carry out training directly; its role is to utilize public funds available to contract training activities with public and private entities. Source: UNESCO, 2005 Furthermore, various initiatives have fostered increased training opportunities and organized national frameworks or systems based on standardization, training, and skill certification. Examples of such experiences include the employment training system in Chile which focuses on a strategy with the Ministry of Labor, the Labor Skills Standardization Council (CONOCER). In Mexico, the National Council of Education in Brazil, which emitted National Curricular Guidelines for technical level professional education, and the Certification and Skills Technical Unit (UTeCC) in Argentina. In Argentina, the Certification and Skills Technical Unit (UTeCC) of the National Employment Secretariat of the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security was created to undertake a series of actions for standardization and recognition of professional skills. The current Technical Unit developed the Labor Certification and Classification Program in four sectors baking, printing, metal working, and auto mechanics and serve as a basis for government policy of standardization and worker certification. The program focuses on: 1) workers performance to improve competitiveness in the labor market; 2) workers rights to access and maintain employment that is registered and recognized; 3) the development of professional training pertinent to the technical and production needs of economic sectors; and 4) expectations of the professional development and mobility of workers through recognition of their performance at the national and international levels (MERCOSUR). Source: UNESCO, 2005 Finally, there is interest of the business sector in fostering skill-based worker training programs to assure quality service. Labor unions are also becoming increasingly involved in social dialogue. Through several multipartite 34 Romijn C. (2002) Combining the World of Work with the Word of Education. In Integrating Lifelong Learning Perspectives. UNESCO Institute for Education. 51

54 schemes, the opinions and initiatives of workers are being considered in the development of labor skills systems. Among the business sector initiatives, we can cite the Associação Brasileira de Manutenção [Brazilian Maintenance Association] (ABRAMAN), in Brazil; the Centro de Formación y Desarrollo Tecnológico de la Industria Papelera [Paper Industry Center for Training and Technological Development] (CENPAPEL) in Colombia; the Centro Asesor para el Desarrollo de los Recursos Humanos [Human Resources Development Assistance Center] (CADERH) in Honduras; and the Cámara Paraguaya de la Construcción [Paraguayan Construction Association] is developing the Construction Industry Efficiency and Competitiveness Program (PECC) in Paraguay. In Paraguay, the Cámara Paraguaya de la Construcción [Paraguayan Construction Association] is developing the Construction Industry Efficiency and Competitiveness Program (PECC) to establish labor skills standardization, training, and a certification system for the sector. The program has diagnosed the training needs of the sector and intends to make available modular curricular designs for 17 occupations. In addition, it is developing two cross-cutting modules in the areas of labor safety and health and the environment. Plans also include offering worksite-based training courses and training of instructors to update them on the contents of the new programs. Another objective is to improve the quality of training offered by training institutes in the private sector, the instructors of which benefit from the training activities offered by PECC. Source: UNESCO, 2005 C. Lifelong Learning in the United States and Canada In the context of globalization, lifelong learning has been revitalized and is being adopted in the North as a key political, societal and educational organizing principle for the 21st century. In the United States and Canada, basic and secondary education is covered for the average citizen. Youth and adults have access to various forms of non-formal education and within this lifelong learning paradigm, the sources of nonformal education become larger and more diversified. Informal learning is also becoming part of organized learning. Lifelong Learning in the United States The Adult Education and Lifelong Learning Report-National Household Education Surveys Program (AELL-NHES 2001) uses a broad definition of education activities that may be considered adult education, including both formal and informal learning activities. According to the AELL-NHES Survey (2001), 46% percent of adults in the United States participated in some type of formal education between early 2000 and early Participants in formal adult education activities in the United States are usually young to middle aged; relatively well-educated; employed in the past 12 months; working in professional, service, sales, or support occupations and from households with relatively higher incomes. The survey also revealed that women were more likely than men to participate in adult education activities. The same was true for nevermarried adults and those who live in households with children under the age of 10 (Merriam and Caffarella, 1999). More adults participated in work-related courses (30%) than in any other type of formal educational activity, and 21% participated in personal interest courses. A much smaller percentage of adults participated in college and university degree programs on a part-time basis (4%), and few adults participated in English as a Second Language, basic skills education, vocational or technical diploma or degree programs, or apprenticeship programs (1%). Although data on adult education suggest that younger people remain most likely to take advantage of adult education, the rate for the older population is fast catching up. Forty-one percent of adults age 66 and over participated in adult education in A lower percentage (22%) is observed for persons age (Kim, et al., 2004). The demand for continuing education has generated programs and work-related courses to attend the needs of the already educated sphere of the population. At the policy level, there have been notable government actions that have contributed to the growth of lifelong educational programs, mostly through State grants: the Workforce Investment Act, Adult and Family 52

55 Literacy Act, and Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act (Uhalde et al. 2003). The challenge remains to include the most socially and economically disadvantaged groups into this form of education. Lifelong Learning in Canada Data from the Canadian Policy Research Network with the participation of the Research Network for New Approaches to Life-Long Learning (WALL/NALL) (UNESCO, 2005) show that in 2004, 81% of the population 18 years of age and over participated in informal learning programs. Data from the Council of Ministers of Education on formal education reveal that 35% of workers participated in some type of formal, job-related training in 2002, accessing opportunities to continue learning and to upgrade their skills. An additional trend revealed by the Report on Adult Education and Training in Canada (2001) is the tendency of lifelong training programs to benefit those with a better social and economic standing in society. Level of education was a strong predictor of participation in education. Individuals with a university degree were 7.5 times more likely to engage in formal lifelong programs than individuals with only a high school degree. Finally, although male and female participation were similar, 27% and 29%, respectively, women received less employer support than men. The report concludes that adults in Canada do not currently engage in formal training as much as do people in some other advanced countries. It also makes it clear that adult learning in Canada favors those already well educated. As a result, emerging policies and strategies have placed an increasing emphasis on continuous learning for the individual. Some key initiatives undertaken by Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), include: 1) targeted programs for women, visible minorities, aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities; 2) special initiatives for children, e.g., through family literacy initiatives, and youth, e.g., through youth employment strategies; 3) considerable research and information specific to employment, occupational and career development; 4) efforts to promote a strong workplace learning culture, e.g., in partnership with labor organizations, and community-based learning networks; 5) initiatives to understand and utilize the Internet and electronic communications to increase learning opportunities and access to information; 6) support to youth and adult students to further their education and/or access postsecondary education; and 7) research and innovation in the assessment and recognition of prior learning (PLAR),essential skills for knowledge work, and quality assurance in education/training (Barker, 1998). THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION The countries of the region have made significant efforts to expand access to primary and secondary education and extend permanence in schools. However, as important as ensuring that all children and adolescents have access to and complete their schooling, is ensuring they acquire the knowledge and skills that will empower them to construct meaning and understand what they learn, thus preparing them to cope with today s social challenges. In this sense, achieving the goals of the Summit of the Americas requires that education systems of the region, in addition to guaranteeing increased access and permanence in schools, deliver quality primary and secondary education. The meaning of quality education varies, depending upon the kinds of citizen and society a particular country wishes to build. From the perspective of OREALC/ UNESCO Santiago 35, quality education is a fundamental right, and as such, it must combine the following dimensions: relevance, pertinence, equity, efficiency, and efficacy. 35 UNESCO (2007). Quality Education for All: A Human Rights Issue. Santiago, Chile. 53

56 Education as a human right and public good makes it possible for people to exercise their other human rights. Consequently, quality education enables individuals to develop their full potential and continue the process of lifelong learning. Relevance responds to the what? and what for? of education, that is, what are the purposes of education and if these represent the aspirations of society as a whole and not only those of particular groups. Hence, quality education fosters the development of competencies that will be called upon to successfully meet the challenges inherent to our modern societies. Pertinence refers to the need for education to be meaningful for people of different social groups and with different capacities and interests. Therefore, a quality education must be flexible and easily adaptable to the needs and characteristics of students from diverse social and cultural backgrounds. In the view of OREALC/UNESCO Santiago, quality and equity cannot be separated from each other. Consequently, a quality education is one that offers the resources that will guarantee equal standing for all the population and the same possibility to benefit from learning opportunities. Furthermore, a quality education is one that is efficacious and efficient. In the field of education, efficacy and efficiency have been two major concerns of governmental initiatives. While efficacy refers to the extent to which proposed education goals are implemented, efficiency measures the extent to which public action has made judicious use of resources devoted to education. In this way, although the quality of education systems cannot be measured solely on the basis of academic achievement, the learning levels attained by education institutions remain a central component of education evaluations. Most countries in the region have developed assessment systems designed to assess student performance. These systems were launched in the 90 s in the framework of education reforms many of which had been designed to improve the efficacy and efficiency of education systems. The following table describes the different student s assessment systems in the region, broken down by grades, subjects, frequency of the assessment, type of survey undertaken and the assessment agency. Table 1 Students Assessment Systems and Participation in International Tests COUN- TRY ASSESSMENT AGENCY FRE- QUENCY GRADES [1] SUBJECTS [2] TYPE OF SURVEY [3] INTERNATIONAL TESTS Argentina DiNIECE National Directorate for Information and Assessment of Educational Quality Biannual (anual through 2003) 3, 6, 9, 3M L, M, NS, SS* NS OREALC (1997; 2006) TIMSS-R (2000, 2003) PISA-Plus (2001) PIRLS (2001) IEA-Civic Ed. (2001) PISA (2003) Bolivia SIMECAL System for Measuring and Evaluating the Quality of Education Annual 1, 3, 6, 8,4M L, M NS, NC, OREALC (1997) ALL (2001) Brazil INEP/MEC SAEB ENEM Biannual Annual 4, 8, L, M Competencies NS V ETS Mathematics (1991) OREALC (1997; 2006) PISA (2000, 2003) TIMSS (2003) Chile SIMCE National System for the Assessment of Educational Quality Annual 4, 8, 10 (2M)* L, M, SS, NS, * CN ES OREALC (1997; 2006) TIMSS-R (1998) TIMSS (2003) IALS (1998) IEA Civic Ed. (2000) PISA Plus (2001) 54

57 Colombia SABER (National System for Evaluating Educational Quality) Tests ICFES: State examinations Annual 3, 5, 7, 9 11 L, M, NS L, M, SS, NS, FL NC NC OREALC (1997; 2006) TIMSS (1995) IEA Civic Ed.(2000) PIRLS (2001) Costa rica Division of Quality Control and Macro-evaluation of the Education System (National Examinations Department) Annual 3, 6 High School Certificate L, M, SS, NS L, M, SS, NS, FL NS NC OREALC (1997; 2006) Evaluation process not completed in 1997 Ecuador APRENDO National Academic Achievement Measuring System Annual 1 3, 7, 10 L, M NS OREALC (2006) El Salvador SINEA National System for Measuring Learning PAES Annual 3, 6, 9 2M, 3M (Technical) L, M, SS, NS, HE L, M, SS, NS NS NC OREALC (2006) Guatemala PRONERE (National Program for School Achievement Assessment /Juarez Associates) Ministry of Education /Universidad de San Carlos Annual 1, 3 Last year of Secondary L, M NS OREALC (2006) Honduras UMCE Annual 3,6 L, M, NS NS OREALC (1997) Mexico INEE National Institute for Educational Assessment IDANIS Instrument for Testing New Secondary School Pupils Annual 6 Cognitive skills RC, NC TIMSS (1995) OREALC (1997; 2006) PISA (2000, 2003) Nicaragua National System for Assessing Basic and High School Education APRENDE PROJECT Annual 3, 6 L, M NS OREALC (2006) Panama SINECE National System for Assessing the Quality of Education Annual 3,6,9 L, M, SS, NS* NS OREALC (2006) Paraguay (SNEPE: National System of Evaluation of the Educational Process) Annual 3, 6 L, M NC OREALC (1997; 2006) Peru UMC/ CRECER Biannual 2, 6, 3M, 5M L, M, SS NS PISAPlus OREALC (1997; 2006) Dominican Republic National Examinations System Annual 8, 3 Adult Education & High School Certificate L, M, NS, SS, NC OREALC (2006) Trinidad and Tobago DERE - Educational Research and Evaluation Division Annual 1, 3, 5, 3M L, M, NS, SS, FL, AE* NC, NS Uruguay Department of Learning Assessment DIEE ANEP Annual preschool, 1, 2, 4, 6* L, M, NS, SS Cognitive and emotional development * NS, NC PISA (2003) OREALC (2006) Venezuela SINEA National System for the Measurement and Assessment of Learning 1998 only 6 L, M NS OREALC (1997) Source: Ferrer, G. (2006) Sistemas de Evaluación de Aprendizajes en AL: Balances y Desafíos. PREAL and OREALC/UNESCO Santiago. LLECE. * Not all grades and/or subjects are assessed every year [1] Upper secondary education grades are identified with the letter M. [2] L=Language, M=Mathematics, CS=Computer Science, SS= Social Sciences, NS= Natural Sciences, HE= Health Education, AE= Art Education, FL= Foreign Language. [3] NC = National Census, RC= Regional Census, NS= National Sample, RS= Regional Sample, ES= Experimental Sample, V = voluntary. Most national evaluation systems assess primary and secondary education students in official language, mathematics, and natural and social sciences domains. These evaluations are conducted annually or biannually through censuses in some cases or sample surveys in others, while the majority are nationwide in nature. 55

58 Trinidad and Tobago 36 assesses their primary students annually through standardized examinations for 1st and 3rd grade, covering language arts, mathematics sciences and social studies. All students from both public and private schools should take the examination. At 5th grade, students take the SEA Secondary Entrance Assessment that is used to facilitate the placement of students in Secondary Schools throughout Trinidad and Tobago. The SEA is comprised of three papers in the subjects of Creative Writing, Mathematics, and Language Arts, and covers the national curriculum for primary-level education. Saint Lucia 37, administers standards tests in grades 2, 4 (primary) and 9 (secondary), designed to assess whether students have reached a minimum threshold of skills and knowledge at one level so that they can adequately function at the next level. This test is supposed to be formative, curriculum-based and diagnostic in nature. Those tests cover English language and Mathematics. For grade 2, includes assessment on health and family life, environment, etc. In 2005, Brazil conducted a first census test (Prova Brasil) for 4th and 8th grade basic students, covering Portuguese and mathematics. In 2006, Mexico administered its first census survey National Academic Achievement Evaluation (ENLACE) 38, on Spanish and mathematics to 3rd and 6th grade primary students and 3rd grade secondary students. In addition to these censuses, both countries have retained their sample evaluations in order to offer more systematic assessments. Table 1 shows that, in addition to education evaluation trends evidenced in the region, the Summit of the Americas countries have participated in several comparative international studies of diverse nature, such as OREALC/UNESCO Santiago (1st and 2nd Studies), IEA (TIMMS-Trends in International Mathematics and Sciences) and OECD (PISA- Program for International Students Assessment) 39, each targeting a specific domain. Nonetheless, in some cases the number of participating countries has not been enough to conduct a regional comparative analysis. Additionally, some of these studies reflect the state of education characteristic of several years ago, making it impossible to compare learning gains made by the school populations. Perhaps an important aspect of these assessments, whether national or international, is the administration of questionnaires designed to capture information from students, guardians, teachers and directors for the purpose of identifying factors that may be affecting student performance. In Buenos Aires, Argentina 40 a pilot study seeks to measure value added by administering achievement tests to a cohort of a specific socioeconomic background, at two different points in time (FERRER, 2006). As a general rule, these kinds of reports offer a synthesis of findings among different groups and geographical areas by types of school. For example, in Uruguay, disaggregated data is distributed to each participating school containing the scores of their respective students as well as those obtained by other schools of similar socioeconomic characteristics. Bolivia s SIMECAL (FERRER, 2006), along with students scores, returns to schools a description of identified weaknesses and strengths by thematic area. In Chile, each institution issues a report - intended for parents and teachers - informing on the results obtained, by grade. These reports are forwarded to every participating school and subsequently distributed by the principal to the parents of students who participated in the country s assessment test (SIMCE) as well as to the parents of students who did not take the test. 36 Available at 37 Available at 38 Available at 39 TIMSS (IEA) & PISA (OCDE) are international tests designed to assess skills and competencies acquired by students from various countries. TIMMS measures achievement by 8th grade students on two domains: mathematics and science. PISA, assesses skills and competencies of 15-year old cohorts, regardless of grade. 40 Ferrer, Guillermo. Sistemas de evaluación de aprendizaje en América Latina: balance y desafíos. PREAL,

59 Mexico s ENLACE distributes printed copies of the results to students, parents, teachers, and to the education community. It also makes available to parents and students a web page through which they can have access to scores and guidelines to improve academic achievement. The First International Comparative Study conducted by UNESCO in 1997, enlisted the assistance of 12 Summit of the Americas countries out of a total of 13 participating countries. This is, so far, the only study that has provided information on the academic achievement of 3rd and 4th grade primary students in the domains of language and mathematics. While the results generated by this study reflect the reality of 10 years ago, the Second Regional Comparative Study, currently under way, will facilitate analyzing progress to date made by some countries towards the quality education goals set at the Summit of the Americas. Although the results generated by UNESCO s first study may not reflect current reality, it is important to bear in mind that it does show a significant proportion of low-performing students, particularly in mathematics, as well as severe inequalities in terms of academic achievement among the children of different socioeconomic strata. Additionally, this study provided insight into the set of associated factors that greatly influence students achievement levels and have important repercussions on the region s educational policies. Between 13% and 78% of students tested on language proficiency in the various countries scored at the highest levels. In the domain of mathematics, however, in eleven countries of the Summit of the Americas, high-scoring students account for 2% to 26% of the tested population. High scores are generally associated with private education institutions and with schools located in major cities. None of the international comparable studies has analyzed academic achievement of secondary students for a significantly large number of Summit of the Americas countries. TIMMS 1999 and TIMMS 2003 evaluated the performance of secondary students from scarcely four countries of the Summit (United States, Canada, Chile and Argentina), while data on Argentina is still not available. Although PISA was not intended to measure academic achievement among secondary students, its findings given the age of the target population and the contents evaluated shed light on the quality of secondary education. Eight countries of the region (United States, Canada, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay) participated in PISA 2000 and/or PISA The results generated by PISA 2000 (language) and 2003 (mathematics), reveal that the region s 15-year-olds, with the exception of United States and Canada, do not attain the competency levels defined by OECD as key for succeeding in the modern world. Moreover, in terms of competency acquisition, large disparities were identified across the countries of the region. For example, while 71% of Canadian youths and 61% of American youths show the necessary ability to find different kinds of information, associate various passages in a text, and relate information provided in the text with previously acquired knowledge, only 23%, 19%, 12%, and 4% of youths from Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Brazil and Peru, respectively, can perform the same tasks. In mathematics, the percentage of 15-year-olds capable of retrieving relevant information form a single source and using simple representations is 83% in Canada, 70% in United States, 35% in Uruguay, 18% in México and only 15% en Brazil. While results for primary education (OREALC 1997) and secondary education (PISA 2000 and 2003) are not representative of all the countries participating in the Summit of the Americas - and describe the reality of past years - they provide enough evidence to show that the goal of quality primary and secondary education remains the major challenge for the countries of the region. 57

60 OTHER FACTORS LINKED TO EDUCATION PROGRESS Investments in Education In the area of development of human potential, increasing emphasis has been placed on the importance of investments in education. There is undeniable evidence that government investments in education have a significant impact on the quality of educational services. Absence of the most basic school resources, such as adequate facilities or textbooks, noticeably impacts students performance (Hanushek, 2005). Other influences such as class sizes, teacher qualification and cognitive skills also affect education quality at the primary and secondary levels. The following graph shows the proportion of national wealth directed to public education in Summit of America countries. Investments made in 2005 ranged from 1.8% of the GDP in the Dominican Republic to 9.4% in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Differences in expenditure can be explained by many factors, such as the size of the school-age population, the Gross Domestic Product, and the level of public resources collected to fund government operations. The largest increases in education investment from can be observed in Saint Kitts and Nevis and Barbados, but modest increases were present in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, El Salvador, and the United States. A few countries have decreased overall spending in education. That is the case in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica, Canada, Paraguay, Panama, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Peru. Graph 4.33 Public expenditure on education as a percentage of gross domestic product for all levels of education and Percentage KN GY VC BB BO US LC MX BZ JM CA GD CR CO BR PY TT AG PN AR CL NI SV UY PE DO ( ) 1999 ( ) 2005 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. Graph 4.34 illustrates how resources allocated to education as a percentage of total public expenditure also varies across countries. In 2005, Mexico and El Salvador designated the largest percentages of their budget to education, while Uruguay and Jamaica designated the least to that sector. Mexico was the only country were education represented more than 25% of the government overall spending. In countries such as Uruguay, Jamaica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic, the education budget represented less than 10% of the overall public budget. From

61 some countries increased their spending in education in relation to other areas of government. The most notable change occurred in Nicaragua. Countries with smaller increases included: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Chile, Belize, Bolivia, Barbados and Paraguay. In many countries, there was a decrease in percentage of funds allocated to education. That was the case in Peru, Colombia, Saint Lucia, Uruguay, and Guyana. Graph 4.34 Public expenditure on education as a percentage of total public expenditure and Percentage MX SV CR CL BZ BO LC BB VC US NI GY PE AR GD KN CO BR PY DO PN JM UY ( ) 1999 ( ) 2005 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. Graph 4.35 presents the average cost of a student in primary school in relation to the country s GNP per capita. This indicator adjusts public per-student expenditure by the income of a country, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP). It allows for comparisons among countries with wide differences in gross products by examining what each country spends on its students relative to its available resources. For example, a less wealthy country may actually devote a larger share of its available resources to education. In such a case, the less wealthy country could be making a greater effort than a wealthier country. Summit of America countries displayed a fairly wide range of per-pupil expenditure at the primary level as a percentage of their per-capita gross products. Percentages ranged from 5% in Guatemala to 23% in Barbados and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines during Comparisons of education expenditure data over time show that the largest increases in per-pupil expenditure happened in Barbados, the United States and Colombia. Conversely, the most substantial decreases in per-pupil expenditure in primary school happened in Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Brazil. 59

62 Graph Public expenditure per pupil on primary education as a percentage of the gross national product (GNP) per capita Percentage BB VC US CO GY CR BO TT MX LC JM BR BZ PY CL GD AR PN SV NI DO KN UY PE GT ( ) 1999 ( ) 2005 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. Secondary education has increasingly become a central policy concern for Summit of America countries. However, as Graph 4.36 indicates, there is a fairly wide range of per-pupil expenditure at the secondary level as a percentage of per-capita gross products. Percentages ranged from 3.7% in Guatemala to 29.7% in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines during Comparisons of education expenditure data over time show that the largest increases in public expenditure per-pupil happened in Barbados. Conversely, the most substantial decreases in per-pupil expenditure in secondary school happened in Saint Lucia and Costa Rica. Graph Public expenditure per pupil on secondary education as a percentage of the gross national product (GNP) per capita Percentage VC BB US JM LC BZ CO CR GY MX AR PY CL KN BO GD BR PN SV NI UY PE DO GT ( ) 1999 ( ) 2005 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. 60

63 The pupil-teacher ratio measures the average number of pupils per teacher at the level of education specified in a given school year, based on headcounts for both pupils and teachers. The pupil-teacher ratio has implications not only for the cost of education, but also for its quality. It is important to emphasize that the pupil-teacher ratio is not necessarily the same as class size (NCES, 2005), measured by pupils per class average. Among Summit of America countries for which data is available, the United States had the lowest pupil-teacher ratio at the primary level of education while Nicaragua had the highest. Pupil-teacher ratios varied greatly among the other countries reported. Eleven countries had ratios below 20. The majority of countries had ratios between 20 and 30. Three countries had ratios above 30. Over time we observed a decrease in pupil-teacher ratio in most countries. The most substantial decreases happened in Guatemala and Costa Rica. Nevertheless, a few countries, such as Colombia and Bahamas increased their pupil-teacher ratio between 1999 and Graph 4.37 Pupil-teacher ratio in primary school and Number of Students per Teacher US BB BS TT AR VC KN GD DM SR VN UY CR BR LC PE EC BZ BO PN DO CL JM PY GY MX CO SV GT HN NI ( ) 1999 ( ) 2005 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. Overall, the variation in pupil-teacher ratio at the secondary level was less pronounced than the variation at the primary level in Nevertheless, the difference between countries with the lowest and highest pupil-teacher ratio is still large. In Saint Kitts and Nevis, for example, the pupil-teacher ratio is around 10 while in Nicaragua it is around 34. In most countries pupil-teacher ratios have either decreased or increased by very little between 1999 and The largest decreases happened in the Bahamas, Brazil, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The largest increases happened in Colombia and Argentina. 61

64 Graph 4.38 Pupil-teacher ratio in secondary school Number of Students per Teacher KN VN PY EC BS SR UY US DM GD PN GT BB BR TT PE LC AR MX VC GY JM BZ CR BO CL SV CO DO HN NI ( ) 1999 ( ) 2005 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. On average, teachers qualifications fall short of what is needed to implement and sustain the education reforms under way in most Summit of America countries. Large investments in teacher training, both pre-service and in-service have been made and will continue to be made by the governments of the region in recognition of this fact. Graph 4.39 shows the degree to which teachers satisfy national certification requirements to teach at the primary school level. In 2005, only El Salvador had 100% of its teachers certified to teach primary school, although Costa Rica also had a high percentage of certified teachers (97%). Most reported countries had 70% or more of its teachers certified. Only in a few countries the percentage fell to 60% or less. The largest percentage increase in certifications between 1999 and 2005 happened in the Bahamas, although more modest increases were also observed in Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Costa Rica, Guyana, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The largest decrease can be observed in Ecuador, but countries such as Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Belize, and Nicaragua also had smaller decreases in percentage of teachers with required certifications. It should be understood that not all countries have the same requirements for formal certification or proven professional skills. 62

65 Graph 4.39 Percentage of teachers with required certification in primary education Porcentaje Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. For 2005, EC did not include ISCED 3 certified teachers. Graph 4.40 shows the degree to which teachers satisfy national certification requirements to teach at the secondary school level. There is greater variation in percentages of certification at the secondary level than at the primary level across countries. Only El Salvador has 100% of its teachers certified, although the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, and Venezuela also had a high percentages of certified teachers (80% or higher) in The smallest percentage of certified teachers (less than 50%) is found in Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Belize. Between 1999 and 2005, a few countries, such as Panama and Nicaragua, increased the percentage of certified teachers at the secondary level. However, the percentage of certifications decreased in Ecuador, the Bahamas, Belize, and Barbados. 0 SV CR PN BS DO HN VN TT LC NI VC BB EC GD DM KN GY BZ ( ) 1999 ( )

66 Graph 4.40 Percentage of teachers with required certification in secondary education Percentage SV BS DO CR PN VN EC HN BB LC TT VC GY NI BZ KN GD DM ( ) 1999 ( ) 2005 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. 64

67 5 Early Childhood Education Several initiatives at international level have confirmed interest in and concern with the holistic approach to early childhood development; most specifically, aspects concerning early education. Since the International Year of the Child (1979), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the World Declaration on Education for All in Jomtien (1990) and the World Education Forum in Dakar (2000), early childhood care and development has become an important goal that countries worldwide have translated into commitment and action plans. As it was mentioned earlier, the goals of the Summit of the Americas concerning education do not include specific goals for early childhood. However, Member States of the Organization of American States (OAS) have recognized the importance of improving the quality of education and have established the fundamental role of early childhood education in educational policies in the Americas. The Ministers of Education gathered in Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago, in August 2005 during their IV Meeting. The Scarborough Declaration recognizes the need to broaden the structure of education beginning with early childhood education, given its very positive impact on the quality of education and on the reduction of inequality. As a result of the Declaration, the Inter-American Committee on Education (CIE) supports a project coordinated by the OAS Department of Education and Culture to promote policies and strategies for successful transition to socialization and school. Given the importance of the theme of the 5th Meeting of the Ministers of Education of the Summit of the Americas, the Educational Panorama 2007 includes a specific analysis of early childhood education in participating countries. What is ECCE? Although holistic development during early childhood includes attention to multiple dimensions of a child s life from birth until the age of 6 or 8, this chapter focuses on the perspective of educational programs concerning that age group, specifically the pre-primary level according to the International Standard Classification of Education by UNESCO (ISCED, 1997). The International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) defines pre-primary education as programs that adopt a holistic approach in supporting children s survival, growth, development and learning from birth to entry into primary school, in formal, informal and non-formal settings. Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) can encompass a diversity of initiatives, such as parenting programs, community-based child care, and formal pre-primary education, often in schools. Programs are geared at two age groups: children under 3 and those from age 3 to primary school entry (usually by age 6, always by age 8). 65

68 Why is it important? Medical and educational research has shown that the development of intelligence, social behavior, and personality occurs most rapidly in humans during the earliest years. Although cell formation is virtually complete before birth, brain maturation continues after birth and is more rapid and extensive during the early years than was previously realized. There is considerable evidence showing that infants exposed to good nutrition, toys, and playmates have measurably better brain function at 12 years of age than those raised in less stimulating environments (Young, 1995). Even though quality programs are beneficial to all children, children from impoverished homes tend to benefit more from good quality preschool than their middle class counterparts, primarily because in environments where poverty is pervasive, social and intellectual experiences to promote optimal cognitive development are not always present (Liang, Fuller, and Singer, 1999; Caughy, Di Pietro, and Strobino, 1994; Clarke-Stewart, 1993). ECCE can help compensate for a lack of physical and cognitive stimulation at home. Quality intervention can prevent malnutrition, stunted cognitive development, and insufficient preparation for school (Myers, 1993; Myers, 1996; and Young 1995). Caughy, DiPietro and Strobino (1994) found that for children from impoverished environments, daycare participation in the first three years of life is positively related to the development of mathematics and reading later on. Other researchers have found that children s experiences in preschool are related to emerging language and literacy skills at the end of kindergarten (Dickinson, 1994). Similarly, book reading and pretend play among four-year-olds benefits children s emerging literacy skills. As part of children s overall development, participation in ECCE during the first years of life affects an important aspect of cognitive functioning school readiness. Researchers find that school readiness encompasses development in five distinct but interconnected domains (Arnold et al., 2006; Copple, 1997; Offord Center for Child Studies, 2005):1) physical well-being and motor development (measured in terms of health, growth and disabilities); 2) social and emotional development (e.g. ability to control one s own behaviour, or to play and work with other children); 3) approach to learning (e.g. enthusiasm, curiosity, persistence and temperament); 4) language development (e.g. vocabulary, grammar and ability to learn and communicate); and, 5) cognitive development and general knowledge (e.g. cognitive and problem-solving skills, such as learning to observe and to note similarities and differences). That particular characteristic of ECCE, preparing children to succeed in the school setting, is the first step toward making human capital investments. In fact, addressing the problem of social, economic, and educational inequality through integrated ECCE programs is considered by many the single most effective intervention for helping poor children, families, communities, and nations break the intergenerational cycle of poverty. Program advocates believe that ECCE can reduce social inequalities regardless background factors, such as gender, ethnicity, and caste. The High/Scope Perry Program in the United States is often cited as evidence of the ECCE impact on children s development and economic well-being. Similar evidence was gathered from programs in Colombia, Jamaica, Cape Verde, Nepal, Egypt, and Guinea, which consistently found that the most disadvantaged children reap the greatest benefits from ECCE programs (UNESCO, 2006). Given the overwhelming evidence, the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and later the Dakar Framework for Action of April 2000 reiterated the importance of early childhood care by recognizing it as necessary step for children to reach their full potential. The High/Scope Perry Preschool program was a small-scale experiment conducted in the 1960s that provided very high-quality care and education to children with an especially disadvantaged social background in the United States. In the study, 58 of 123 low-income African-American children assessed to be at high risk of school failure were randomly assigned to a group that took part in a high-quality pre-school program at ages 3 and 4; the remaining 65 children constituted a control group. 66

69 All were assessed annually until age 11, and several times later in life, most recently at age 40. Comparisons between the program and control groups suggest that participation in the program led to increased IQ at age 5 (67% vs 28% above 90); enhanced success at school, including higher rates of graduation from secondary school (65% vs 45%); and higher earnings at age 40 (60% vs 40% earning more than US$20,000 a year). Detailed cost-benefit analysis suggests that the program cost US$15,166 per participant and yielded US$258,888 (in constant 2000 dollars) a 17.1:1 benefit/cost ratio. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007, Strong Foundations, Page 112 ECCE and Transition into Primary School Early school achievement is particularly valued in North America, while parents in Latin America, by contrast, tend not to emphasize academic achievement early in life, as they see children as developing more slowly. Despite regional differences on the importance of academic performance, EFA goals recognize good quality ECCE as an important foundation for subsequent education during a person s lifespan. The two main approaches regarding the transition to primary school may be summed up as school readiness and ready schools (Fabian and Dunlop, 2006). The former stresses the importance of ECCE in promoting children s development and assuring their school readiness; it seeks to identify the characteristics that children should display if they are ready for school. The concept of ready schools, on the other hand, focuses on characteristics of the school environment that facilitate or hinder learning. Researchers have identified several factors that can undermine readiness, among them overcrowded classes, the language gap (when the language of instruction differs from the child s mother tongue), an absence of qualified and experienced first grade teachers and inadequate learning materials (Arnold et al., 2006). These factors have been particularly challenging to address in developing countries. The relative importance of school readiness and ready schools is much debated, and transition strategies are difficult to evaluate. Yet, it is increasingly clear that the key to effective services for young children is continuity of certain elements that characterize all good early childhood programs (Fabian and Dunlop, 2002; Kagan and Neuman, 1998). What Programs Work? While successful ECCE programs are extremely diverse, important lessons can be drawn from strong programs around the world. First, early childhood programs need to be rooted in children s cultural environment and to respect children s linguistic and cultural diversity. Adopting multilingual education, for example, can enrich the content of education for all children and facilitate the integration of different cultures and traditions (Benson, 2002). Second, parenting programs should support positive child-rearing practices, which again need to be understood in their social and cultural contexts. Good programs must ensure continuity of support as the child moves from the family to a program outside the home and eventually into primary school. One way to smooth the transition is by engaging with parents and offering support during children s earliest years. Third, good relations between pupils and ECCE teachers and staff are the single most important determinant of ECCE quality. Interactions require child-centered activities, reasonable working conditions, such as low child/staff ratio and use of materials that take into account children s development and the social context within which they live. Fourth, maintaining continuity in staffing, curriculum, and parental involvement is key in easing the transition from pre-primary to primary school. Fifth, well-designed programs can challenge gender stereotypes. Even where equal access exists, early childhood programs often promote gender specific expectations, a process that also occurs in homes and communities (Chartier and Geneix, 2006; Golombok and Fivush, 1994). Gender-equitable programs are characterized by gender-neutral curricula and teachers and staff who are trained on these issues. In sum, ECCE programs that possess those characteristics can help offset disadvantage, whether poverty, emergency situations or special needs. They can also promote gender equality and other forms of inclusion through appropriate role models and linguistic diversity. 67

70 Changes in Organized Child Care During the early nineteenth century European and North American countries started to organize more formal arrangements to care for, socialize and educate young children. Early childhood programs evolved to attend to many social challenges, such as addressing the needs of abandoned, deprived or neglected children and the children of poor working mothers, providing an enriching pre-school education for middle-class children, and providing a safe and affordable environment for the children of working women. In Latin America, very few early childhood programs existed before However, beginning in the 1970s pressures to expand access to early childhood education grew steadily, with many governments initiating and expanding formal programs for 3- to 5-year-olds (UIS, 2001). The shift in importance of ECCE resulted in great part from changes in the concept of family, such as the decrease of the traditional family comprising father, mother and children, growing numbers of working parents and changes in household structures that have reduced the role of parents and extended family members in child care. Subsequently, during the 1990s, the number of households headed by women increased substantially (Chant, 2004) and, more recently, 50% of women participated in the labor force in Latin America and the Caribbean (ILO, 2004). From a macro-social perspective, ECCE institutions have acquired over the years the function to support the role of parents in the care and socialization of children. Parents and state started to share the responsibility for children s optimum development (Haddad, 2002). Demographic characteristics of countries further define the potential demand for early childhood programs. In Latin America and the Caribbean the population of young children has stabilized since 1990 as a result of both lower fertility levels and higher mean ages at first marriage, which are influenced by growing family planning provision, women s participation in the labor force and the rise in their levels of educational attainment (UNESCO, 2006). UN population projections indicate that moderate decline in the early childhood population (ages 0 to 5) will continue in coming decades. In Latin America, the percentage of children is expected to decrease from 12% (2005) to 10% (2020). These estimates can assist governments in planning how to address the needs of that population in future years (United Nations Population Division, 2005). Monitoring Progress towards EFA Goal 1 Expansion and improvement of comprehensive early childhood care and education is the first EFA goal. However, it is not easy to assess national progress towards the ECCE goal, as there are no quantitative targets for monitoring progress and the nature and quality of early childhood provision are less standardized than those on education. Data currently available indicate the number of children enroled in pre-primary education has almost tripled worldwide during the past three decades, from about 44 million in the mid-1970s to about 124 million in As Figure 4.25 indicates, in 2005, net enrolment rate in Latin America and the Caribbean was highest in Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, and Mexico (above 80%). Honduras, Guatemala, Paraguay had the lowest net enrolment rate among the analyzed countries (below 30%). 68

71 Graph 5.1 Pre-Primary Net Enrolment Rate Percentage JM GY BB SR MX GD TT AR EC PE LC US PN UY BR VN SV CL BO NI CO BZ DO PY GT HN Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. In Jamaica, more than 95% of 4- and 5-year-olds participate in ECCE. Over 80% of pre-schoolers attend community-operated basic schools and about 20% attend public infant departments and private centers that receive government subsidies for teacher salaries, class materials and school meals. The ECCE curriculum consists of an eclectic approach focusing on affective, psychomotor and cognitive domains. In 1998, the Ministry of Education, Youth & Culture (MoEYC) assumed responsibility for the Day Care Unit (formerly part of Ministry of Health) in addition to its own Early Childhood Unit. After a strategic review, the Early Childhood Commission was set up in 2002 to coordinate and monitor ECCE services. Recent policy efforts focus on an integrated approach and improved staff quality for 0- to 6-year-olds. An analysis of the Gender Parity Index (GPI) in the region, expressed as the ratio of females to males in net enrolment rates, presented in Table 2, shows that most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have achieved gender parity. Only two countries show small disparities in favour of girls. Table 2 Gender Parity Index in Pre-Primary Net Enrolment Rate COUNTRIES WITH GENDER PARITY Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela Belize, Granada COUNTRIES FAVORING GIRLS Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. Figure 5.2 displays countries status with regard to gender parity in pre-primary enrolment (GPI) and school life expectancy (SLE) in pre-primary, in years, among preschoolers. In some countries, GPI is higher than one, which indicates girls enrolment rate is higher than boys. SLE in most countries is higher than one, but below two, which indicates that on average, children spend less than two years in pre-primary school. 69

72 Graph 5.2 Gender Parity Index for Net Enrolment Rate (NER) and School Life Expectancy (SLE) in Pre-Primary Education KN BZ GD DM Parity Index BB GY TT GT MX CO EC UY PE BR DO PN CL AR BO NI VN SR PY JM SV LC HN CA CR VC ( ) SLE ( ) NER Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. Graph 5.3 reports age specific enrolment rates in school-based institutions for 3- to 8-year-olds. Among 5 year-olds or less, cross-national variation in enrolment rates is considerable: from less than 10% in Bolivia, El Salvador, Paraguay, Honduras, Panama, Guatemala, and Suriname to more than 70% in Barbados, Jamaica, and Grenada. In all countries, enrolment rate rises quite steeply with age. Among 6-, 7- and 8-year-olds, participation levels are similar in most cases, in large part because enrolment rates coincide with the onset of compulsory schooling and children s entrance into primary schools. Graph 5.3 Age specific enrolment rates for children aged 3 to AR 100 BB Percentage Percentage Age Age 100 BO 100 BR Percentage Percentage Age Age 70

73 100 BZ 100 CL Percentage Percentage Age Age 100 CO 100 DO Percentage Percentage Age Age 100 EC 100 GD Percentage Percentage Age Age 100 GT 100 GY Percentage Percentage Age Age 100 HN 100 JM Percentage Percentage Age Age 71

74 100 LC 100 ME Percentage Percentage Age Age 100 NI 100 PE Percentage Percentage Age Age 100 PN 100 PY Percentage Percentage Age Age 100 SR 100 SV Percentage Percentage Age Age 100 TT 100 US Percentage Percentage Age Age 72

75 Percentage UY VN Age Age Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Note: See the data appendix for values and explanatory notes. Although enrolment rates have increased over the years and gender parity has been achieved in most countries, there is evidence that relatively low priority has been given to pre-primary education in government public spending. As a share of GNP, public expenditure on pre-primary education was 0.2% in Latin America. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the average expenditure on pre-primary totals 14% of that on primary, but the variation by country is wide, ranging from 1% in Bolivia to 37% in Guyana. In North America, public expenditure per child in pre-primary education averages closer to 70% of that in primary education (UNESCO, 2006). In many countries, international organizations and, in a few cases, public-private partnerships provide financial support to ECCE. The private sector plays a large role in many countries. In parts of North America and Latin America, religious institutions continue to provide ECCE and often allow others to use their buildings for this purpose. Table 3 classifies countries into three categories (low, medium and high) according to the share of total pre-primary enrolment in private institutions. Private institutions are defined as those not operated by a public authority but controlled and managed, whether for profit or not, by a private body such as a non-governmental organization, religious body, special interest group, foundation or business enterprise. A public institution is one controlled and managed by a public education authority or agency (national/federal, state, provincial or local), whatever the origin of its financial resources. Regional variations are pronounced. In North America, country shares of private pre-primary enrolment are either in the low or medium categories. In much of the Caribbean, the private sector is considerably more prominent. Overall, the evidence suggests in much of the developing world the private sector has played a more prominent role than the public sector. Table 3 Countries classified according to the share of private pre-primary enrolment Percentage LOW (0% TO 32%) Guyana, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Barbados, Panama, Venezuela, Uruguay, El Salvador, Guatemala, Peru, Honduras, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Canada MEDIUM (33% - 66%) Colombia, Dominican Rep., Suriname, Chile, Ecuador, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, United States HIGH REGION (MORE THAN 66%) Bahamas, Jamaica, Belize, Dominica, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago Source: Annex, Statistical Table 3B. UNESCO, EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007, Strong Foundations. In Chile, total pre-primary expenditure per student is higher than in other countries in Latin America, although much of this is private expenditure. The Ministry of Education (MoE) is responsible for policy, planning, supervision, coordination and Evaluation of ECCE. Municipalities finance and administer public and subsidized private centers. The National Board of Kindergartens (JUNJI), an autonomous public body responsible for kindergartens for poor children, supervises fee-charging private centers and sets up kindergartens in poverty-stricken areas. 73

76 Actions enacted since 2001 include: 1) expanded coverage, particularly for children from the poorest households; 2) improved quality and use of the work with children, families, communities and educators; 3) strengthened management system. President created Technical Advisory Council in 2006 to guide early childhood policies. Presidential commitments in 2006 for immediate action include: pre-school vouchers for children 0 to 3 years old from the poorest 40% of households, expansion of kindergartens for 20, and 5-yearolds, and 800 new day care centres for 20,000 children. INTEGRA, a non-profit private foundation, also serves poor children (mostly under age 4). ECCE Policies in the Region The World Conference on Education for All-EFA (Jontiem, 1990) emphasized the importance of meeting the basic learning needs of the most vulnerable children through Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCE). Ten years later, the Dakar Framework for action (2000) reaffirmed the EFA vision by calling for a collective commitment to action in favour of ECCE to reach EFA goals before However, to date, most national governments have accorded limited policy attention to ECCE relative to two other EFA goals: universal access to primary education and gender parity. Although all education plans give some attention to early childhood, only a few take the holistic approach to ECCE, which encompasses early childhood policies that cover health, nutrition, education, water, hygiene, sanitation and legal protection for young children. To this date, 61% of Latin American and Caribbean countries have programs for children under 3. That percentage is considerably higher in North America (92%). Generally, Ministries of Education view young children s education as part of the national education system. However, few countries have established national frameworks to finance, coordinate and supervise ECCE programs for that age group. Even in countries like Brazil, where ministries of education have been assigned administrative responsibility for the under-3 age group, limited information is reported about existing programs and services. Furthermore, information is limited regarding the duration (in hours per day/week) of programs targeting under-3s. Some are full time and others accommodate children on flexible hours. In some Latin American and the Caribbean countries, some programs run ten hours or fewer per week. Programs that run forty hours or more are more common in North America. Given the importance of early childhood programs for working women, an alternative way to monitor program availability is by noting the extent to which programs operate full time (defined in this context as more than four hours per day) or part time during the week. Regarding ECCE programs for children over the age of 3, there is an increase in the number of countries that are passing legislation making school attendance compulsory for children of pre-primary age. Among 30 worldwide countries with laws making pre-primary education compulsory, ten are in Latin America (see Table 3). However, compulsory attendance laws tend to reflect policy intentions rather than educational realities, which depend on availability of resources and enforcement by the appropriate government offices (Benavot et al., 2005). As a result, the legislation does not necessarily result in higher pre-primary enrolment. For example, the mean net enrolment rates (NER) in preprimary education for the ten countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with such laws is about 47%. However, for countries in the region without such legislation, the mean pre-primary NER is actually higher (58%, n=21). In several Latin American countries with compulsory attendance laws (e.g. Argentina and Uruguay), policy attention and resources are focused almost exclusively on the last year of pre-primary education, to the detriment of programs aimed at younger children (Umayahara, 2005; UNESCO, 2004). 74

77 Table 3 Countries with laws making pre-primary education compulsory COUNTRIES YEAR LAW WAS EN- ACTED AGE AT WHICH PRE- PRIMARY COMPULSO- RY EDUCATION BEGINS NUMBER OF YEARS OF COMPULSORY PRE- PRIMARY EDUCATION Argentina Colombia Costa Rica El Salvador Mexico Panama Peru Dominican Republic Uruguay 3 3 Venezuela Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007, Strong Foundations, p The ECCE profile states that all pre-school is mandatory. Further research shows that only the last year of pre-school is mandatory, as of age 5. 2 Compulsory pre-primary education was to be phased in for the following ages (as of 1 September): 5 (2004/05), 4 (2005/06) and 3 (2008/09). 3 The ECCE profile states that the law requires children to attend formal or non-formal initial education programs from age 3. In addition to compulsory laws for ECCE, government policies in many countries are moving toward the integration of ECCE into education systems. Although that trend is most evident in Europe, it has also been observed in other developing countries, such as Brazil. Implementing this strategy entails creating administrative structures that unite previously separate ECCE and primary education structures. To do so, countries have unified pre-primary and primary education under the governance of the public school system, fully integrating childhood services from birth through compulsory education, and sometimes even holding preschool classes in primary school buildings. In some cases, countries have lowered the entry age for compulsory schooling to include pre-primary children (as in Argentina, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela). While structural integration may yield benefits, it entails a risk of the education component of ECCE overshadowing the welfare, health and care components, which may lead to undue pressure on children for academic achievement at an early age (Shaeffer, 1996; Shore, 1998). For governments to develop strong policies for young children, the political, social and economic conditions need to be supportive. Governments can start to elaborate a national vision statement of goals to help countries address the rights and needs of young children. However, this vision should clarify the work of the education, health and social sectors, and require the relevant ministries or agencies to make the needed funding allocations within their current budget. Each nation has to determine its own way forward, by building on a nation s own experiences while drawing on and adapting lessons learned by others. Community-based organizations, NGOs, religious groups and for-profit entities can support government efforts to expand, improve and coordinate ECCE provision. Finally, international aid agencies need to accord higher priority to ECCE and support governments that demonstrate integrated plans to ensure children s full development from birth to primary school entrance. 75

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79 6 CONCLUSIONS The present report offers a description of the state of education in the Summit of the Americas member countries in terms of the goals to be achieved by To this end, it is used a basic set of internationally comparable indicators discussed in the framework of this Project. The report also includes a discussion on the relevance of early childhood education and regional advances in this field. From the evidence presented in this document, several relevant aspects of the proposed goals may be identified. These, related to the education system s context, as well as to the access, permanence and completion, and quality and equity of primary and secondary education in the region. Context All the Summit of the Americas countries showed gains in relative wealth and welfare, and a decrease on the potential demand for more social services, such as education. However, countries facing the greatest challenges in the field of education, that is, guaranteeing access to and completion of primary and secondary education to a larger proportion of their populations are precisely those that exhibit the lowest levels of relative growth (measured both in terms of human development and economic per capita wealth). However, it is important to note that economic, social and demographic changes followed different patterns in the region. During the reported period, countries with the least amount of resources and greater demands evolved very differently, have found themselves in different conditions to confront the goals challenges adopted to the Summit of the Americas, but still, in a favorable situation to accomplish the goals in a long term. While the economic, social and demographic context is not a determining factor as demonstrated by this report, it is important to reflect on what conditions and policies led the various changes in the countries of the region, particularly considering that economic, social and demographic contexts to have both a direct and indirect impact on education systems that may affect their capacity to achieve the goals adopted by the Summit of the Americas. Although countries with the largest share of primary education students of non-official entry age, lower enrolment rates in pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary education, as well as lower levels of primary and secondary completion, are those that show the severest constraints, significant improvement made toward complying with several of the Summit goals proves that progress is possible even in adverse circumstances. A case in point is illustrated by Guatemala where primary net enrolment rates rose from 83% to 94%, despite unfavorable conditions. Access, Permanence and Completion The third goal of the Summit of the Americas assumes responsibility for providing the general population with opportunities for lifelong learning, an aspiration that implies giving priority to the equitable distribution of learning 77

80 opportunities. From the perspective of UNESCO, learning begins at the moment of birth and must be a continuous process throughout life. Consequently, analyzing access, permanence and completion at the different levels of education, is tantamount to exploring the education opportunities each country has to offer. While early childhood education is not included in the Summit of America goals, the growing importance of this education level led the Ministers of Education meeting at Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago (August, 2005) to adopt it as a priority in the Summit education agenda. Most Latin American countries have invested heavily in early childhood care and education (ECCE). In the region, access to ECCE tends to concentrate at education levels that coincide with compulsory schooling age. In fact, in all the reported countries, access to education programs rises steeply relative to age. Likewise, pre-school enrolment rates vary significantly among the countries of the region. The challenges posed by early childhood education embrace more than the need to expand coverage, as they also concern how it is linked to other aspects of early childhood care, namely, health and social welfare, among others. While timely entry to primary education is still an area that requires special attention in the region, a large proportion of primary school age children will eventually access it. In fact, seven countries of the region achieved universalization of primary education, six of them attaining it between 1999 and To date, in six countries net enrolment rates are below 90% and in two others below 85%. Broadly speaking, countries with the lowest net enrolment rates are also those with the lowest rates of timely entry. Access levels are a necessary but not sufficient condition for achieving this goal, since as important as accessing first grade of primary education is ensuring that children are able to progress through this level and complete it. During the period, repetition rates in the region has drastically decreased. Nevertheless, the rates are still high in the region with Brazil and Suriname, nearly 20% of children enroled in primary education being repeaters. For many years, repetition and dropout and the need to prevent their occurrence have occupied a central place in the education agenda, action plans, and policy recommendations both nationally and internationally. Repetition and dropout are complex problems and appear to be related not just to the children well-being and their families but, rather, to the quality of the education provision. Consequently, solutions to these problems must be viewed from a broader perspective not merely from the standpoint of school flow efficiency. In spite of all these problems, a significant number of countries are very close to universalizing primary education. In effect, in seven countries, the proportion of year old population with completed primary education currently exceeds 95%. Seven other countries have reached the 90% threshold. Yet, primary education completion remains a major concern in the region, considering that some countries still cannot guarantee completion of this level to at least 80% of their population of official school-leaving age. In the reported period, countries such as Bolivia and Honduras have shown significant advances in terms of primary education completion between two consecutive generations. This demonstrates that, in spite of myriad constraints, these countries have made important efforts towards expanding primary completion among the new generations. While during the reported period most Summit of the Americas countries have made significant progress in terms of access to secondary education ten countries have achieved this goal for 75% of their youths six countries still show enrolment rates below 60%. In turn, only two countries (Bahamas and Barbados) reached the goal that at least 75% of their secondary students completed this level, and one (Chile) is very close to achieving it. However, in four countries this percentage is still below 30%. 78

81 In contrast to primary completion, where the countries that face the major difficulties are precisely those that show the greatest progress between the two generations, in terms of secondary education, two of the countries with the lowest levels of completion are among those that also show the least amount of progress. As in the case of primary education, countries that present the lowest access rates are also the countries that face major constraints, that is, higher levels of social demand stemming from demographic growth and dependency, greater share of rural population, and lower levels of human and economic development. The high illiteracy rates evidenced in some of the Summit of the Americas countries prevent many adults from engaging in lifelong learning activities. However, it should be noted that in all the reported countries, the relative size of the illiterate population as compared to the total adult population, is smaller among the younger population. The expansion of primary and secondary education service provision in recent decades, has translated into reducing the illiteracy rates. Yet, it is important to examine to what extent the countries are making available to those who never had the opportunity to receive schooling at the appropriate age, education programs that will empower them to become literate and continue to learn. Many of the programs designed for youths and adults are part of national strategies that seek to address social needs. While in different countries of the region these programs are intended to restore a lack of basic learning opportunities, in the United States and Canada, where basic and secondary education is covered for the average citizen, lifelong learning is being adopted as a key political, societal and educational organizing principle for the 21st century. Equity and Quality Learning As important as measuring overall national and regional progress toward achieving universal access, permanence, and completion of early childhood, primary and secondary education if not more so is analyzing, within countries, the quality of the education provision and whether the right to education is being exercised equally across the different social groups. Most of the countries in the region have achieved gender parity in terms of access to pre-school, primary and secondary education. Furthermore, it is interesting to note a growing trend in the region against boys relative to girls concerning timely entry, permanence and completion of primary and secondary education. This situation is found mostly in the Caribbean countries. As regards primary education completion, all the countries of the region have made significant progress in the income, ethnic group and urban-rural parity among the youth populations. However, equity among the various social and ethnic groups remains an unresolved issue. In this respect, Chile is the only country that has attained ethnic parity among the urban-rural population and among recent school-leavers in the upper and lower income quintiles. Yet, no country can make this claim concerning secondary education. The region of America is home to a substantial number of countries with high levels of economic and social disparities, so the fact that the greatest inequity in primary and secondary completion in the region reflect income-related inequalities, should come as no surprise. Although in Guatemala and Bolivia progress between the two generations relative to the parity index associated with income, ethnic group or area of residence (urban versus rural) is evident, achieving equity in the completion of both educational levels, will require additional efforts. When addressing the quality of education, rather than focusing on students performance in standardized tests, it is important to view this phenomenon from a broader perspective. While academic achievement contributes impor- 79

82 tantly to the elaboration of efficient education policies and practices, it is not enough to analyze the complexity of the challenges the region s education systems must confront. In terms of learning achievement, comparable data available for primary education have not been updated in the last 10 years. Moreover, national assessment systems, quite advanced in the region, show the difficulties to provide quality learning to their children that will allow them to develop minimum competencies and continue to learn throughout their lives. For secondary education, academic performance data for 15-year-olds is much more recent. Regrettably, this information is only available for a limited number of countries. However, with the exception of the United States and Canada which show acceptable performance levels in international standardized tests, in the rest of the participating countries severe shortcomings are evident. Efforts During the period, several countries increased education investments both in terms of per-pupil expenditure and participation relative to other governmental sectors. However, the Summit of the Americas countries displayed a fairly wide range of investments in the field of education. While Mexico and El Salvador designated the largest percentages of their budget to education, Uruguay and Jamaica destined the least to that sector. Moreover, Mexico was the only country where education represented more than 25% of the government overall spending. In countries such as Uruguay, Jamaica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic, the education budget represented less than 10% of the overall public budget. Although increased education spending is not necessarily linked to enhanced education services, these indicators give proof of some of the efforts the various countries in the region are making towards providing quality education. Availability of relevant statistical data for monitoring regional and international commitments The present report is indebted to the efforts of UNESCO and participating countries which have systematically provided internationally comparable information in the field of education. While there is evident progress in terms of timeliness and availability of information relevant to the education objectives of the region, there remains much to be done in essential areas such as the teaching profession, education financing, and academic performance, among others. Among the different initiatives being implemented in the region, the need for information mapped to international standards that ensure regional comparability remains one of the top priorities of our joint efforts. In this respect, we would like to emphasize the support given by PRIE to the development and consolidation of international education statistics. In this connection, UNESCO is coordinating different lines of action and seeking to ensure the availability of timely and reliable information in line with the growing Plan of Action demands. In this sense, developing initiatives geared towards the creation of information systems and education statistics increasingly more in tune with international, regional and national needs, has become a high priority for the countries of the region. 80

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87 8 APPENDICES 8.1 COUNTRY PROFILES This appendix includes for each of the 34 Summit of the Americas countries, a summary of the information used in this document, for the year 2005 or the last one available. The central section shows for each indicator for which information was available, the relative position of each country in relation to the regional average. For this purpose, each indicator value has been transformed into a common scale using a normalization procedure. Thus, each dot shows how distant the country is from the regional average using Standard deviation units (marked using dotted lines). Take into account that higher values for an indicator do not necessarily imply a better situation, since this depends upon the nature of each indicator. Finally, the number of observations considered to compute the regional average (countries with data) is also shown. 85

88 (AG) ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (AR) ARGENTINA HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 0.44 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 2,767 Population (in thousands) n.a. GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) 38,747 Urbanization (%) 38.4 PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) 91.8 Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) n.a. GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 17.8 Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) n.a. Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) n.a. PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 8.7 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 12,704 Years of compulsory education 12 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) primary education secondary education n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) Years of compulsory education 10 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 2.8 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 1.3 primary education secondary education 79.1 Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 86

89 (BB) BARBADOS - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (BO) BOLIVIA HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 0.43 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 1,099 Population (in thousands) 292 GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) 9,182 Urbanization (%) 52.9 PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) 64.2 Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 12.9 GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 24.6 Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 7.5 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) n.a. PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 10.4 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 2,508 Years of compulsory education 11 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 0.3 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 0.2 primary education secondary education 96.2 PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) Years of compulsory education 8 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 11.7 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 3.0 primary education 95.1 secondary education 72.7 Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 87

90 (BR) BRAZIL - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (BS) BAHAMAS HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 8,512 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 13.9 Population (in thousands) 186,831 GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) 323 Urbanization (%) 83.4 PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) 90.0 Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 18.2 GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 18.9 Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 9.3 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 7,475 PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 8.7 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) n.a. Years of compulsory education 8 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 11.1 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 3.9 primary education 99.2 secondary education 77.8 PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) Years of compulsory education 12 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 4.2 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 2.5 primary education 90.9 secondary education 83.9 Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 88

91 (BZ) BELIZE - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (CA) CANADA HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 23.0 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 9,985 Population (in thousands) 276 GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) 32,271 Urbanization (%) 48.6 PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) n.a. Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 24.3 GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 12.3 Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 10.9 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 6,324 PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 6.7 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 29,693 Years of compulsory education 10 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 5.3 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 1.4 primary education secondary education 71.4 PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) Years of compulsory education 11 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) n.a. Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) primary education secondary education n.a. n.a. n.a. Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 89

92 (CL) CHILE - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (CO) COLOMBIA HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 757 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 1,139 Population (in thousands) GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) 44,946 16,295 PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) 76.6 Urbanization (%) 86.6 GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 20.6 Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 17.3 Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 9.0 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 10,700 Years of compulsory education 8 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 3.5 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 0.8 primary education 89.7 secondary education n.a. Human development index (hdi) PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 9.4 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 6,498 Years of compulsory education 10 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 7.1 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 2.4 primary education 86.9 secondary education 55.3 Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 90

93 (CR) COSTA RICA - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (DM) DOMINICA HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 51.1 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 0.75 Population (in thousands) 4,327 GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) 70 Urbanization (%) 62.6 PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) 72.7 opulation aged 5 to 14 years (%) 19.3 GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) n.a. Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 10.3 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 9,057 PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) n.a. Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) n.a. Years of compulsory education 10 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 3.8 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 1.4 primary education secondary education n.a. n.a. PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) Years of compulsory education 12 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) n.a. Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) n.a. primary education 84.0 secondary education 91.8 Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 91

94 (DO) DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (EC) ECUADOR HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 48.7 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 284 Population (in thousands) GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) 13,061 Urbanization (%) 65.6 PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) 62.8 Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 21.4 GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 21.5 Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 10.6 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 10.1 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 3,862 Years of compulsory education 9 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 14.5 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 7.5 primary education 87.7 secondary education 53.0 PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) Years of compulsory education 10 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 7.0 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 2.1 primary education secondary education 52.2 Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 92

95 (GD) GRENADA - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (GT) GUATEMALA HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 0.34 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 109 Population (in thousands) 107 GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) 12,710 Urbanization (%) 42.2 PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) 50.0 Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 24.5 GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 27.2 Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 11.6 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) n.a. PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 10.9 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 4,064 Years of compulsory education 12 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) n.a. n.a. primary education 83.5 secondary education 78.8 PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) Years of compulsory education 9 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 28.2 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 18.4 primary education 94.1 secondary education 33.7 Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 93

96 (GY) GUYANA - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (HN) HONDURAS HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 215 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 112 Population (in thousands) 739 GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) 6,834 Urbanization (%) 38.5 PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) 47.9 Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 19.4 GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 25.6 Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 9.1 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 4,011 PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 11.2 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 3,052 Years of compulsory education 10 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 1.0 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 0.2 primary education secondary education n.a. n.a. PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) Years of compulsory education 6 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 22.0 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 12.7 primary education 90.6 secondary education n.a. Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 94

97 (HT) HAITI - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (JM) JAMAICA HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 27.8 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 11.0 Population (in thousands) 9,296 GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) 2,682 Urbanization (%) 41.8 PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) 52.2 Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 24.1 GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 21.5 Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 12.6 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 1,479 PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 10.1 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 3,817 Years of compulsory education 6 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 45.2 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 31.2 primary education secondary education n.a. n.a. PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) Years of compulsory education 6 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 11.3 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 4.9 primary education 89.9 secondary education 78.5 Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 95

98 (KN) SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (LC) SAINT LUCIA HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 0.26 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 0.62 Population (in thousands) 43 GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) 161 Urbanization (%) 31.9 PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) 31.3 Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 20.8 GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 19.8 Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 10.1 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) n.a. PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 10.2 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) n.a. Years of compulsory education 12 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) n.a. Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) n.a. primary education 93.4 secondary education 86.1 PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) Years of compulsory education 12 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) n.a. Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) n.a. primary education 97.0 secondary education 68.4 Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 96

99 (MX) MEXICO - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (NI) NICARAGUA HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 1,973 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 129 Population (in thousands) 104,266 GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) 5,463 Urbanization (%) 76.5 PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) 56.9 Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 20.8 GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 25.6 Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 9.9 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 9,564 PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 11.7 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 3,269 Years of compulsory education 10 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 7.4 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 2.3 primary education secondary education 65.0 PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) Years of compulsory education 6 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 31.9 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 26.8 primary education 87.2 secondary education 42.7 Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 97

100 (PE) PERU - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (PN) PANAMA HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 1,285 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 78.2 Population (in thousands) 27,274 GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) 3,232 Urbanization (%) 72.6 PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) 65.8 Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 21.5 GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 19.7 Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 10.0 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 5,373 PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 9.3 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 6,766 Years of compulsory education 11 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 8.4 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 2.4 primary education 96.5 secondary education 69.7 PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) Years of compulsory education 6 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 7.0 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 2.6 primary education secondary education 63.8 Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 98

101 (PY) PARAGUAY - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (SR) SURINAME HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 407 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 163 Population (in thousands) 5,904 GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) 452 Urbanization (%) 58.4 PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) 77.2 Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 24.2 GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 20.0 Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 10.8 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 4,130 PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 9.9 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) Years of compulsory education 9 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 5.6 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 2.4 primary education 87.5 secondary education n.a. PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) Years of compulsory education 6 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) n.a. Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) n.a. primary education 94.2 secondary education 74.7 Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 99

102 (SV) EL SALVADOR - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (TT) TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 21.0 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 5.1 Population (in thousands) 6,668 GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) Urbanization (%) 57.8 PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) 76.2 Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 22.3 GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 14.6 Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 9.8 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 4,675 PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 9.9 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) Years of compulsory education 9 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 18.9 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 10.0 primary education 92.7 secondary education 53.2 PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) Years of compulsory education 7 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 1.2 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 0.2 primary education 89.7 secondary education 69.0 Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 100

103 (US) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (UY) URUGUAY HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 9,629 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 176 Population (in thousands) 299,846 GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) Urbanization (%) n.a. PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) 91.9 Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 13.9 GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 16.1 Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 7.2 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) 37,267 PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 7.6 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) Years of compulsory education 12 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) n.a. n.a. primary education 92.1 secondary education 89.0 PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) Years of compulsory education 10 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 2.0 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 0.8 primary education 92.7 secondary education n.a. Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 101

104 (VC) SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES - Regional + Average INDICATOR (Number of cases) - Regional + Average (VN) VENEZUELA HDI (34) DEMOG GROWTH ( ) (32) % URBANIZATION (32) DEMOGRAPHIC DEPENDENCY (28) POTENTIAL DEMAND (PRIMARY - 5 a 14 años) (32) BASIC INFORMATION POTENTIAL DEMAND (SECONDARY - 15 a 19 YEARS) (32) BASIC INFORMATION Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 0.39 GDP PER CAPITA (USD PPP) (27) Territory (in thousands km 2 ) 912 Population (in thousands) 119 GINI COEFICIENT (18) Population (in thousands) Urbanization (%) 60.5 PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (26) Urbanization (%) 92.8 Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 19.5 GPI PREPRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) Population aged 5 to 14 years (%) 20.5 Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 11.1 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) PRIMARY GROSS INTAKE RATIO (32) PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) GPI PRIMARY NET INTAKE RATE (25) Population aged 15 to 19 years (%) 10.1 Gdp per capita (in us dollars ppp) Years of compulsory education 11 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) n.a. Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) n.a. primary education 90.3 secondary education 63.9 PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) GPI PRIMARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (29) SURVIVAL RATE TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (24) GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (30) EXPECTD GROSS INTAKE RATIO TO LAST GRADE (PRIMARY) (26) % REPEATERS (PRIMARY) (29) SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) GPI SECONDARY NET ENROLLMENT RATE (25) PUBLIC EXPENDIT EDUCATION AS % GDP (26) Years of compulsory education 10 Adult illiteracy rate (pop 15 years and over) 6.0 Youth illiteracy rate (pop 15 to 24 años) 1.4 primary education 91.3 secondary education 63.0 Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND EDUCATION AS % TOTAL PUBLIC EXPEND (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (PRIMARY - USD PPP) (24) Human development index (hdi) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % /GDP PER CAPITA (PRIMARY) (25) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD (SECONDARY - USD PPP) (23) PUBLIC EXPEND X STUD AS % GDP PER CAPITA (SECONDARY) (24) EXPEND PRIMARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (24) EXPEND SECONDARY AS % TOTAL EXPEND EDUC (23) PUPIL/TEACHER (PRIMARY) (30) PUPIL/TEACHER (SECONDARY) (31) % TRAINED TEACHERS (PRIMARY) (18) % TRAINED TEACHERS (SECONDARY) (18) GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (18) EXP GROSS GRADUATION RATIO (PRIMARY) (13) COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) GPI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (23) U/R PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (17) QSUP/QINF PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION PRIMARY (15-19 years) (9) CURRENT PRIMARY COMPLETION (24) COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) GPI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (22) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (16) U/R PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (18) NORG/ORG PI COMPLETION SECONDARY (20-24 years) (9) CURRENT SECONDARY COMPLETION (21) ADULT ILLITERACY (25) GPI ADULT ILLITERACY (25) YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) GPI YOUTH ILLITERACY (25) 102