Education in Belize

Joined Commonwealth: 1981

Population: 307,000 (2009)

GDP p.c. growth: 2.2% p.a. 1990-2009

UN HDI 2010: world ranking 78

Net primary enrolment: 99.6% (2009)

Net secondary enrolment: 64.8% (2009)

Gross tertiary enrolment: 11.2% (20090

Public spending on education was 6.7% of GDP in 2009. There are ten years of compulsory education starting at age five. Gross enrolment ratio for all level of education combined was 75.1% in 2009 with a primary female-male ration of 0.97:1 (2009) and secondary female-male ratio of 1.08:1 (2009). The pupil-teacher ratio for primary is 23:1 and for secondary 17:1 (2009). Some 95% of pupils complete primary school (2008). The school year starts in September.

The University Belize opened in 1986. Belize also shares in the regional University of the West Indies, which has campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. The female-male ratio for gross enrolment in tertiary education is 0.93: 1 (2009).

The Caribbean Examinations Council, established in 1972 by an agreement among 15 English-speaking Commonwealth Caribbean countries and territories, provides examinations and certification at secondary and post-secondary levels. The Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examination is for students at the end of the secondary education cycle; the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations for post-secondary students entering the world of work and for those candidates who wish to continue their further education at the tertiary level.

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