| Education System in Grenada |
In Grenada, education modeled on the British system is free and compulsory between ages 6 and 14. However poverty, and seasonal demands to help bring in harvests mitigate against full attendance and absenteeism remains high. The entry level to 6 years of primary education is age 5. At the end of this, pupils must pass a common entrance examination to proceed to lower secondary school.
The first phase of secondary education comprises three years of middle school (grades 7 – 9). It culminates in a school-leaving certificate examination for those unable or unwilling to proceed further.
Students who remain on at school complete a higher secondary phase lasting for 2 more years. At the end of this, they have the choice of sitting for their Caribbean general certificate of education, or the Cambridge GCE.
While education in Grenada continues to be largely academic, the government is pushing ahead with efforts to expand vocational options at schools. Plans are afoot to re-focus curricula to embrace arts, crafts, sports, and tourism, and thereby to plug national skills gaps.
The leading tertiary institution is the T A Marryshow Community College in Grenada. Here students can complete the first years of their university degrees, complete 2- and 3-year programs in nursing and pharmacy, and study for their GCE advanced levels.
At St George’s University illustrated here, full bachelors degrees in arts, veterinary science, medicine and general sciences are available too. Further opportunities are provided by the University of West Indies Distance Education Center.
