Ja: Calls for compulsory school attendance

For several years now, Jamaica's average attendance rate at the primary level of education has ranged between 75% and 80%. There are schools in certain geographical areas where the rate has been as low as 70%. There is little evidence to suggest that this situation will improve any time soon. Indeed, a deficit attendance rate among the nation's 320,000 primary school students of approximately 20%, must have very serious consequences on learning time and achievement in schools. This situation therefore begs correction.
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We can compare the foregoing scenario with that of Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, where school attendance is virtually 100% and the students do relatively better in external examinations, other variables concerning examination results remaining constant.

For example, in these countries the success rates in CXC's Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations in English and Mathematics have been between five and 10 percentage points higher than in Jamaica. These two countries, along with several in the hemisphere, including Cuba, have instituted compulsory school attendance for several years now and the results are partially seen in the high success rates in many common external examinations.