Jamaica’s Ministry of Education has taken important measures to build and transform its education system. Although the country has achieved near-universal primary and secondary education enrolment, its schools still face challenges of poor quality of instruction, inadequate teacher training and retention, underperformance, gender imbalances, lack of physical and human resources, and the influence of crime and violence.
Persistent illiteracy plagues the nation, particularly in low-income communities. Since testing began in the 2008-09 school year, on average only 71 percent of Grade 4 students have been certified as literate. As a result, there is an increased emphasis on improving education outcomes by improving children’s ability to read. The United States Government’s (USG) Jamaica country assistance strategy priority supports this goal by contributing to improved early grade reading instruction and reading delivery systems and greater engagement, accountability, and transparency by the educational system
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