Preschool Education

Preschool Education In Latin America

Last Updated Aug 20, 2008 02:47 AM

The report was prepared by the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Regarding the first goal on universal preschool education, the report says preschool registration in the Latin American/Caribbean region in 2000 was just under 50 percent, with levels ranging from 15 percent to 30 percent in countries with low per capita income. The resources necessary to provide universal preschool education are estimated at almost $64.6 billion.

The report says progress in meeting this first goal would make the educational system more efficient because it would reduce the number of years necessary to complete primary and secondary education and help to close the gap between children of different social strata. It would also provide women with more opportunities to enter the labor market by allowing them to handle their domestic responsibilities and work for remuneration outside the home.

On the second goal of ensuring that everyone completes primary education, the report said that in 15 countries of the region, only 83 percent of the child population had successfully completed this level, while in five other countries the rate was 80 percent or less, indicating that high repetition and drop-out rates remain an acute problem.

Meeting the second goal will take about $21.5 billion, said ECLAC and UNESCO in their report.

On the third goal, raising coverage of secondary education, the report said that only 62 percent of the region's population aged 13 to 18 was registered in school, with a high drop-out rate reported in a number of countries.

Expanding coverage of secondary education to 75 percent would cost $59.3 billion, according to the report.

On the fourth goal, eliminating illiteracy among young people and adults, the report said the illiteracy rate is 10 percent or higher in almost half of the region, and in five countries the illiteracy rate is over 20 percent. The report said the region has about 39 million illiterate adults. Correcting this problem by 2015 would cost $6.9 billion.