The OECS Education Statistical Digest (OESD) is an annual publication that addresses the increasing demand for dependable and current data to support data-driven decision-making and oversight of interventions in Member States' national education systems.
The OESD is a regional integration success that contributes to the harmonisation of monitoring and evaluation processes and agreement on key indicators for measuring the progress of the education sector in the OECS. This annual publication ensures that Member States maintain adherence to international standards for education data and statistics.
The OESD continues to improve with each edition. This is partly due to the improving capacities and commitment shown by the staff at the EDMU and the statisticians and education planners from the OECS Member States. Progress on education targets and goals is captured through subsequent editions of the OESD. A combination of the OECS Education Sector Strategy (OESS), the CARICOM Human Resource Development Strategy 2030 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4 provide the framework for the collected and analysed data. This year’s edition captures data for the 2022-2023 academic year.
The first section of the Digest provides important background information on the general structure of education systems in the OECS region, as well as a table that maps the SDG4 indicators to the OESS indicators and further to the specific table in the OESD 2022-23. The following chapters reveal the number of institutions, information on leaders and teachers, data on student enrolment, the internal efficiency of the systems, system outputs – specifically examination results, and available information on education financing in the sub-region. Historical data is also presented to show changes over time.
Covid-19 significantly disrupted the monitoring of education indicators, presenting unprecedented challenges in data collection and analysis. The pandemic highlighted the need for agility and adaptability in monitoring frameworks to respond to new challenges swiftly. Such a shift requires more dynamic data collection methods that include learning management systems (LMS) which track student participation and performance online and Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) which can aggregate and report on sector- level indicators. Education systems in the region are increasingly integrating technology to gather timely and relevant data, potentially leading to a more resilient education system capable of managing future disruptions more effectively. As such, the integrity, reliability and continuity of data on key education indicators must be sustained to better support decision-making and policy formulation to address educational needs during and post-pandemic.
Development Partners, Policy-makers, Education Officers, School Leaders, Researchers and Teachers all rely on the OESD for relevant insights on the development trajectory for education in the OECS.
This publication and all of those prior can be found on the official OECS web portal at https://oecs.int/en/our-work/knowledge/library/education/oecs-education-statistical-digest
INTRODUCTION