Education in Dominica

Education in Dominica is compulsory from ages 5 to 16. [http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2001/dominica.htm "Dominica"] . "2001 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor". Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor (2002). "This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.] The gross primary enrollment rate was 100.4 percent in 1991 and 98.2 percent in 1998, and the net primary enrollment rate was 88.7 percent in 1991 and 88.8 percent in 1998. Primary school attendance rates were unavailable for Dominica as of 2001. While enrollment rates indicate a level of commitment to education, they do not always reflect children’s participation in school. Poor physical conditions in many primary schools affect the quality of education, and some schools are overcrowded, limiting access to primary education, particularly for children living in urban areas around the capital. Poverty and work on family banana farms during the harvest season can affect school attendance, but other employment does not pull minors out of school. There is a significant Carib Indian population on Dominica, and schools on the Carib reservations are reported to have fewer resources.

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