Access to Tertiary Education in the Commonwealth Caribbean in the 1990s: In, Higher Education in the Caribbean: Past, Present, and Future Direction: 2000. Editor, Glenford Howe. University of the West Indies Press. Kingston. Pages 117-141.
Access to Tertiary Education in the Commonwealth Caribbean in the 1990s essentially documented the status of tertiary education as it existed in the Commonwealth Caribbean following the CARICOM Prime Minister’s Conference in Montego Bay, Jamaica in 1997 which set goals for tertiary education in the sub-region that were to be achieved by 2015. As such it provides a broad baseline against which the development of tertiary education in the 21st century in the Commonwealth Caribbean can be assessed.
As background, the Chapter differentiates tertiary education from adult education; gives a brief outline of the history of schooling generally; compares the provision of tertiary education in the British West Indian colonies to those of the North American Colonies and with the provision of basic education; briefly describes the development of tertiary education in the Commonwealth Caribbean from the 1940s to the late 1990s in relation to types of tertiary institutions and in relation to the expansion of secondary education that took place beginning in the 1950s.
Using empirical data from studies and official reports, the Chapter discusses enrolment in tertiary education in the various countries of the sub-region and in the regional University of the West Indies. Some comparisons are made between levels of enrolment in tertiary education in the Commonwealth Caribbean and several Countries of Latin America.
Relying on official reports of visas granted by the United States and Canada to Commonwealth Caribbean nationals to study in tertiary institutions, the Chapter discusses access to tertiary education in those countries with policies favoring educated migrants. Comparisons are made with respect to numbers of students from different Commonwealth Caribbean countries as well as their level of success as measured by graduation.
The major portion of the Chapter is devoted to empirical data and discussion of issues related to equity and access to tertiary education in the Commonwealth Caribbean. The issues discussed are Cost and Affordability; Social Class; Race and Colour; Location and Residence and Gender.
