2 . Education sector diagnosis
Table 2 :
St . Kitts and Nevis enrolment indicators , 2013
NER ages 0-2
NER ages 3-4
ASER 5 years old
Males |
42.2 % |
Females |
37.0 % |
All |
39.6 % |
GPI |
0.88 |
Males |
86.1 % |
Females |
84.3 % |
All |
85.2 % |
GPI |
0.98 |
Males |
100.0 % |
Females |
100.0 % |
All |
100.0 % |
GPI |
1.00 |
Source : GoSKN , 2014c ; population projections from the SKN ESP Simulation Model , IIEP .
Table 3 :
Primary and secondary school Net Enrolment Ratio and Gender Parity Indices , 2013
Primary NER
Secondary NER
Males |
93.2 % |
Females |
94.3 % |
All |
93.8 % |
GPI |
1.01 |
Males |
82.3 % |
Females |
80.3 % |
All |
81.3 % |
GPI |
0.98 |
Source : GoSKN , 2014c ; population projections from the SKN ESP Simulation Model , IIEP .
Nonetheless , for decades , the Ministry has provided for universal education at the primary and secondary level . Using provisional population estimates , as of 2013 , the gross enrolment ratio ( GER ) at the primary level stood at 98 % ( 100 % SK , 94 % N ) and net enrolment was 94 % ( 95 % SK , 90 % N ). 13 The male-to-female ratio at this level indicates that gender parity has been achieved . Additionally , SKN boasts a transition rate from primary to secondary of 100 %
At the secondary level , despite the provision of free and compulsory comprehensive education since the 1960s , sustaining universal access and participation at this level has been challenging . Using 2013 – 2014 data , GER is 90 % ( 90 % SK , 88 % N ) and NER is 81 % ( 82 % SK , 79 % N ), which indicates that 19 % of secondary school students are either over- or underage . In terms of participation by gender , the overall enrolment ratio of males to females is roughly equal ( GPI 0.98 ) ( see Figure 5 ). 14
23
Figure 5 : Students by grade and age condition (%), 2013 – 2014
100 % 90 % 80 % 70 % 60 % 50 % 40 % 30 % 20 % 10 % 0 % |
15 %
85 %
Preschool
|
4 % |
4 % |
5 % |
73 % |
73 % |
71 % |
23 % |
23 % |
24 % |
8 %
70 %
21 %
Kinder G1 G2 G3
|
9 % |
9 % |
8 % |
12 % |
16 % |
18 % |
69 % |
67 % |
69 % |
70 % |
88 % |
65 % |
22 % |
23 % |
23 % |
18 % |
85 % |
15 % |
4,5 % 4,8 % 26 % 27 %
57 % 54 %
12 % 13 %
G4 G5 G6 G1 G2 G3 G4 G5
|
|
EC |
Primary |
Secondary |
% Under age % Expected age % 1 Year over age % 2 Years over age % 3 + Years over age
Source : EMIS data as depicted in UNICEF ( 2016 ), Graph 7 .
13 . The NER is lower than a number of key stakeholders believe to be true . MoE officials , officials with responsibility for the household registry in the Ministry of Social Development , principals , and community members alike express confidence that all primary schoolage children are indeed in school . The low NER may be attributed to the single age disaggregation population reconstruction .
14 . Without reliable age-disaggregated population information and complete enrolment datasets prior to 2013 / 2014 , ascertaining GER before 2013 / 2014 was not feasible . GER / NER for 2013 / 2014 was projected by building population data in line with primary school demography , as it can be safely assumed that all primary school children are , indeed , in school .