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Barbados: Barbados Education Profile

2015/09/04

Barbados Education

Primary Education

The school education system in Barbados adheres closely to British norms, and is paid for by the government right though tertiary levels too. The nation enjoys a literacy level in excess of 98% thanks to the emphasis the state places on this. The 6 years of primary school education begin at age 4. At age 11, the children write their common entrance examination in order to qualify for secondary school.

Secondary Education

Secondary school follows through to age 18, although it becomes non-compulsory 2 years earlier. At that point students write their caribbean examination council examinations similar to gce o-level. Those who remain on for their final 2 years may write the Caribbean advanced proficiency certificate that leads on to opportunities for tertiary education.

Vocational Education

The Barbados vocational board provides skills both to employed and unemployed persons. These range from short courses through to 5 year apprenticeships in all disciplines.

Tertiary Education

There are no universities per se in the Barbados. There is however a Branch of the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill, the Barbados Community College, a Teacher’s Training Institute, and the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic illustrated here.


The latter is named after the first person of African descent to be elected to the Barbados Parliament, and who was later named the right excellent.

Education System in Barbados

Education System in Barbados-globserver

Education in Barbados is based primarily on the British model.

There are presently:

  • 1 infant school,
  • 4 public nursery schools,
  • 71 public primary schools,
  • 2 assisted special schools,
  • 20 registered private schools,
  • 23 public secondary schools,
  • 7 assisted private secondary schools,
3 tertiary-level institutions
  • UWI Cave Hill
  • Barbados Community College (BCC)
  • The Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP)
  • 1 teachers' training institution
  • 1 central administrative agency
2 departments, namely
  • Audio Visual Aids and School Meals Department
  • The Education Project Implementation Unit

In addition, there is 1 public senior school

Academic Term

The Barbadian school year is fashioned after the British system, and as such, it follows a scheduling with three terms per school year.

The first term begins the second week of September and continues for 15 weeks adjourning in mid-December excluding week for Mid Term Break in Mid-October. The second Term begins on the first week of January and continues for 12 weeks ending the end of March. The final Third Term begins mid-April and continues for 11 weeks until the end of June.

The School Holiday period is 9 to 10 weeks long from the end of June until the first week of September.

Education is provided free of charge and is compulsory between the ages of 5 and 16, and attendance is strictly enforced. In 1997, the gross primary enrollment rate was 101.3 %.

It was reported that Barbados has spent roughly US$15 billion on Education since Independence in 1966. In 2006 during the inaugural Cecil F. deCaires Memorial Lecture at the Frank Collymore Hall, the former Central Bank Governor Sir Courtney Blackman remarked that between 1966 and 2000 successive Governments (of Barbados) had spent US$15 billion on education costs – "a remarkable investment for such a small national".

In 2009, Ronald Jones as the Minister of Education and Human Resource Development said the Barbados government spent $290 million to upgrade the schools with data technology. Given this Jones said the ministry would be entering a grading processes for schools on their usage of the technology using a scale of 1 to 6

Grading System in BarbadosGrading System in Barbados-globserver

Barbados Credentials

Barbados Credentials-GLOBSERVER

Universities in Barbados

This list includes universities, colleges, vocational schools, and other higher education institutions.

Universities in Barbados  This list includes universities, colleges, vocational schools, and other higher education institutions.