21 Aug. 2022
Weekly Current (archived version)
Sneak preview of education data from the 2021 Cayman Islands Census. Public school start dates announced. UK-bound students urged to get visas now. Children’s Colouring Day at George Town Library.
And more!
Welcome to this week’s newsletter on education in the Cayman Islands.
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This week we’ve been busy slicing and dicing statistics from the Cayman Islands’ 2021 Census Report, for our regular monthly education feature we produce for the Cayman Compass.
Our story package is set to appear in this Friday’s newspaper, but we’ll give newsletter readers an early overview of the key points:
- From 2010-2021, the number of Cayman students in primary and secondary schools grew from 7,149 to 8,806 — an increase of 23%.
- If you apply the last decade’s annualised growth rate going forward, then Cayman is on track to have more than 11,000 public and secondary school students by the year 2032. That’s an additional 2,200 students, give or take.
- Since 2010, all of the growth in student enrolment has been in private schools. According to Education Data Reports, the number of students in public schools dropped slightly in the past decade.
- If current trends hold, there could be more students in private school than in public school in 2032. (Of course, that depends on available capacity and potential construction of new schools and/or classroom space.)
- In terms of broader infrastructure concerns, the number of students riding the bus to school has remained flat since 2010, while the number riding in private vehicles has increased by more than one-third. Carrying those numbers forward, there could be thousands more cars on the road carrying students to/from school in 2032. (Will the private schools have their own bus service in place by then?)
- In Cayman, women tend to be more educated than men, with 34% of women holding at least a bachelor’s degree, compared to 27% of men.
- Also, non-Caymanians tend to be more educated than Caymanians, with 37% of non-Caymanians holding at least a bachelor’s degree, compared to 25% of Caymanians. About half of Caymanians have a secondary school diploma or less, compared to 38% of non-Caymanians. And 12% of Caymanians have a vocational certificate or equivalent, compared to 16% of non-Caymanians.
- As a whole, the population is becoming better-educated, with 31% holding at least a bachelor’s degree in 2021, compared to 25% in 2010 — and 44% having a secondary diploma or less, compared to 51% in 2010.
Look out for Friday’s Compass newspaper for the Current’s feature report.
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It’s almost time for “back to school”!
The Department of Education Services has released start dates for public schools for the 2022/2023 school year. Here’s the rundown:
- Thursday, 25 Aug. — all government primary schools
- Thursday/Friday, 25/26 Aug. — Year 12 CIFEC students to report for registration
- Tuesday, 30 Aug. — all government secondary schools, including CIFEC
DES also has given information on Orientation Days, which are mandatory for parents and their students who are entering government schools for the first time. The orientations start 24 Aug. Don’t miss it!
Cayman students who wish to study in the UK are required to have a student visa, if they don’t possess a UK passport. That includes students who have BOTC/Cayman Islands passports.
The Cayman Islands Government Office – United Kingdom advises that student visas are currently taking about 3 weeks to process. In other words, if you need a student visa and haven’t applied already … Do it now.
On a related note, British passports are taking more than 10 weeks to process for regular renewals, and longer for first-time applications.
The Cayman Islands Public Library Service is hosting one last hurrah for the summer — Children’s Colouring Day, set for Saturday 27 Aug. in the George Town Library parking lot.
The event starts at 10.30am and runs until 1pm. There will be drawing, face painting, chalk, painting, prizes, etc. It’s free and open to children ages 2 and up.
More from the Current
Around The Web
The Current is a central resource for education journalism by others, including regional and international news relevant to Cayman education. (Find our running collection of links here.)
- Cayman Compass ($): Bear Grylls’ BecomingX Education platform gifted to Cayman schools
- Cayman News Service: Start dates released as school holidays draw to close
- Miami Herald ($): State grand jury recommends five Broward School members be removed
- The Royal Gazette (Bermuda): OBA poses string of questions over plans for new academic year
The Week Ahead
- Current-Compass collaboration on Census data