Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

Schools failing despite high spending

Schools failing despite high spending

The government is spending 66% more per student than the global average and the second highest investment per head in OECD countries, but many government schools in Cayman are still under-performing, the Office of the Auditor General found.
In a report examining how effective the education ministry is at using its resources to maximise student achievement, the OAG found that government has no clear strategic direction for education and is using the $86 million budget poorly.

“Despite education being a priority area and one of the Government’s strategic broad outcomes, there is no overarching strategic plan that sets out the goals, objectives and outcomes that are expected to be achieved,” said Auditor General Sue Winspear.

“We found that there was limited understanding between the use of resources and performance. It is important that good success measures and outcomes are set for education to ensure that success can be measured and money is being spent on things that will make a difference,” she added.

This is the first time that the OAG has ever looked at how the education ministry spends its main budget, which accounts for more than 12% of the government’s core budget. The report drew some worrying conclusions about what appears to be badly managed investments.

The auditors found concerning levels of under-performance across all government schools against the expected levels, as well as a significant gender gap, with girls out-performing boys, except for primary school maths.

And while government has increased spending on special needs students, the auditor’s report said it was not clear if it was helping, as the attainment of primary school students with SEN declined significantly last year in all subjects except writing.

“We found that despite investment in special educational needs increasing significantly, it is not clear if it is improving outcomes for students with special educational needs,” Winspear said. “There has been a significant increase in the number of specialist staff but the performance of students with special educational needs continues to be mixed.”

The report also found there was no overall strategy for engaging parents. Each school develops its own approach, and while that means engagement can be tailored to meet the needs of each school, there are risks that messages are not communicated consistently and parents are not adequately engaged.

But even students are not engaged as they should be, as Winspear’s team identified high levels of truancy, which haves increased over the past five years. Using data they examined from 2013 to 2018, the OAG found that the average number of missed sessions per student increased in most schools. The auditors said some schools have a significant truancy problem, such as Savannah Primary and John Gray High School and the Cayman Islands further Education Centre.

The auditors also raised concerns about the ministry’s failure to align education goals with those of employment. The government has said it wants to improve education to ensure full employment for Caymanians but the report said there “is no clear link between the vision and priorities for education and economic priorities”.

The OAG said there was no indication as to how the education system will produce graduates with the skills the job market needs. In particular, the auditors noted the absence of any clear link between scholarship funding, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and whether what those students are being paid to learn will meet the requirements of the available jobs.

The report paints a worrying picture of government’s failure to examine how public funds are being used in one of its major priority areas. With everyone calling for more investment in education because of the continually disappointing results, this audit implies that the problem is not a shortage of cash.

Despite the damning findings of the OAG, the Ministry of Education issued a statement following publication of the report claiming it was providing world-class educational opportunities while tackling a myriad of societal ills, including illiteracy, unemployment, criminality and lower economic growth.

“We ensure that each dollar that is spent delivers value for money so that we can tackle these global challenges effectively,” officials said.

The ministry said it would continue to build on the initiatives it had already implemented to improve student progress and attainment and would seek to provide further research-based initiatives that target the specific needs of students. Officials acknowledged the importance of a strategic plan for education and said that the ministry would include this in its future plans.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
Saudi-Spanish Business Forum Commences in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia and Spain Sign MoU to Boost SME Sectors
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
A Chinese company made solar tiles that look way nicer than regular panels!
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
Saudi Arabia Emerges as Global Tech Magnet with U.S. Backing and Trump’s Visit
This was President's departure from Saudi Arabia. The Crown Prince personally escorted him back to the airport.
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
Trump takes a blow torch to the neocons and interventionists while speaking to the Saudis
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
×