Education in the Bahamas is a pillar of society.

As of 2003, the attendance rate

was 92% and the literacy rate was 95.5% (US Department of State). The government
owns nearly of the primary and secondary schools in the Bahamas. Children must
pass tests after each year in order to progress into the next grade (Classbase). These
facts mirror the system in place in the US. Schooling is viewed as an important part of
society, everyone sends their children to school but they are overcrowded. As the State
Department notes some public schools lack basic educational materials and [are]
overcrowded (US Department of State). These are the same issues that are facing the
rest of the world in regards to schooling. As populations continue to grow exponentially
we need to compensate by expanding schools and creating more to keep up with the
increase in population. It is impossible to have a single teacher control forty or more
students at a time. This is an issue plaguing the entire world and simply creating more
schools would alleviate the issue tremendously.
In the Bahamas nearly 20% of what the government spends goes towards
education (Classbase). Compared to the United States which spends only 5.2% of their
GDP on education, the Bahamas is clearly ahead of the curve. It is important to
consistently invest in the future and what better way is there to invest than to increase
spending in schools. While the Bahamas may be on track by spending a large portion
towards education there is still more than needs to be done. The schools are
overcrowded and lack materials and the solution to such an issue would be to increase
spending and help to curtail this issue.
Back in 2007 the government launched a new program in hopes of improving the
educational system and education in the country in general (Classbase). The program

included policy development, increased apprenticeship, and more specified training for
students to enter the workforce ready to work. It attempted to create a vocational
system that was self-reliant and would increase employment. The Bahamas is trending
upwards in terms of education but needs to continue to make strides forward and
continue funding education in order to truly see results in the education sector.
The Bahamas also offers tertiary education which we would refer to as college
or university. As the Bahamas is not a large country there are not a ton of universities
but there are several as well as others in other regions of the Caribbean in which many
students have the opportunity to go to. The last step for improving education in the
Bahamas is to increase the emphasis on this type of schooling. It is here where
students receive the highest level of education and can prepare themselves for entering
the workforce with highly skilled jobs. When there are more highly skilled jobs in the
workforce that will only benefit the economy as a whole.
Ultimately, the Bahamas is very similar to the US in terms of their educational
structure. They emphasize the importance of education but many of the schools and
funding is subpar to what is needed. That said, the Bahamas are trending upwards in
terms of education and they merely need to increase their spending and place a large
emphasis on continuing school past what is necessary in order to see their educational
system flourish.

Works Cited
Bahamas. (n.d.). Retrieved April 05, 2016, from
http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100626.htm
Education System in Bahamas. (n.d.). Retrieved April 05, 2016, from
http://www.classbase.com/countries/Bahamas/Education-System
Government expenditure on education as % of GDP (%). (n.d.). Retrieved April 05,
2016, from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS