Primary education is the foundation of education in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as it provides children with the necessary skills to succeed in their academic and personal lives. The government has recognized the importance of primary education and has therefore allocated the largest portion of the national budget to it. This financial support has enabled the country to provide quality education to its children, ensuring they have a bright future ahead of them.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines has 67 primary schools, of which 10 are privately operated institutions. The government, recognizes the need to educate its citizens from a young age, consequently, every effort is being made to make this a reality. The government's support for education extends to both the public and privately operated institutions, ensuring that they too provide quality education to their students. The spread of primary schools in the country enables parents access to a school for their children, regardless of their financial situation.
School meals are also provided to students in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, ensuring that they have access to healthy meals that will fuel their learning. This provision eliminates the barrier to education that poverty can create, ensuring that all children have the opportunity to learn and grow. For the academic year 2021-2022 approximately 5300 students participated in the School Feeding Programme.
The primary pupil enrolment for 2021-2022 was 12,451, a decrease of 414 students compared to the previous academic year. Government or public institutions accommodate the majority of primary pupils, with private enrolment at 11.04%. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for the 2021/2022 academic year was 97.70 while the Net Enrollment Rate stood at 91.24, indicating that the government's efforts to make primary education accessible to all have paid off. The high enrollment rate means that the majority of the country's children are receiving an education that will prepare them for secondary education and beyond.
This section of the e Statistical Digest provides data regarding primary enrolment, student performance, the number of repeaters by institution, dropouts, the number of teachers in each institution and their qualifications, as well as the expenditure for this sector. Each of the above categories is further disaggregated by district, institution, and gender as appropriate.
Some of the data provided includes:
The pupil enrolment by institution and district
The number of repeaters by institution
The number of teachers per institution and their qualifications and
Pupil performance in various assessments
This data can be used to assess the effectiveness of primary education policies and programs, identify gaps within the sector and how resources can be allocated to realize further gains.