Description

EDUCTT indicates the person's educational attainment in Trinidad and Tobago in terms of the level of schooling completed.

Comparability — General

Trinidad and Tobago has a 7-3-2 education system.

• Primary education lasts 7 years and is divided into an infant cycle (2 years) and a standard cycle (standard 1-5). Students take a secondary entrance exam at the end of primary education (in standard 5).
• Secondary education has two stages: 3 years of junior secondary and 2 years of upper secondary. Some students may opt to continue for 2 additional years of secondary schooling (lower and upper 6), which are for university preparation.

Before the start of basic education, early childhood care and education is offered in nurseries (for children aged 0-3 years old) and kindergarten or preschool (for children aged 3-5 years old). Post-secondary education includes both non-university and university studies. It is offered in technical colleges, teacher colleges, universities, among others.

The 1970 sample only provides the highest educational level attained (or level attending for persons in school), while later samples also specify the number of year completed within the corresponding level.

The 2011 census identifies post-secondary non-university options that are not included in other samples. In 2011, "post-secondary" is classified as vocational, trade, commercial, or secretarial programs, while "tertiary non-university" is considered to include people who studied in technical institutes (leading to degrees not equivalent to a bachelor degree).

The enumeration instructions do not clarify what education levels are included in "other", but this category presumably includes post-secondary non-university studies (such as training for teachers, nurses, etc.)

The universe changed across samples: all persons answered this census question in 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000, while the universe was limited to persons in private households living in Trinidad and Tobago in 2011.

Universe

Availability

• Trinidad and Tobago: 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2011