Equity in Tertiary Education in Central America : An Overview

Bashir, Sajitha ; Luque, Javier

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ACCESS TO EDUCATION;    COMPLETION RATE;    ETHNIC INEQUALITY;    HOUSEHOLD DATA;    LABOR MARKET;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-6180
RP-ID  :  WPS6180

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper analyzes the evolution insocio-economic and ethnic disparities in tertiary educationattainment, participation, and completion and labor marketoutcomes in the six countries of Central America. There isevidence of differential progress, with Costa Rica, amiddle-income country, and Nicaragua, a low-income country,having improved participation of low-income students intertiary education, while this continues to be negligible inGuatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Wide differentials insalaries linked to socio-economic background can signaldifferences in the quality of tertiary education or prioreducational experiences. The analysis distinguishes betweenlong-term and short-term constraints and the key transitionsin the education cycle that impede access to tertiaryeducation. The main obstacle to accessing tertiary educationfor poor students is the failure to either start or completesecondary education, suggesting different priorities fordifferent countries in addressing long-term constraints.However, problems also arise within tertiary education, asin all countries the average tertiary education completionrate is below 50 percent, with even lower rates for studentsfrom low-income families and indigenous backgrounds. Thepaper uses an OECD framework for public policies forpromoting equity in tertiary education to assess policies inCentral American countries and concludes that many of themcurrently lack the policies, instruments, and institutionalmechanisms to promote greater equity in tertiary education.The paper highlights how valuable insights can be obtainedfrom analysis of household survey data in the absence ofcomprehensive data on tertiary education which is typical ofmany developing countries.