This small island country has established its own medical school and community college.
Grenada is known as the “Spice Island.” Its tropical climate, beaches, hot springs, rain forests, and mountain lakes caught the eyes of the French, who settled the island in the 17th century and established sugar estates with slave labor. In the 18th century, Britain took control and expanded sugar production to include cocoa. Today Grenada is independent, the world’s second-largest producer of nutmeg and a major producer of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. The tiny country made world headlines in 1983 when the United States invaded after Prime Minister Maurice Bishop was killed in a power struggle in the governing People’s Revolutionary Government. Growth in tourism has helped to reduce poverty and unemployment, but the accompanying construction also has threatened rain forests and caused beaches to erode.
Grenada enjoys a tropical climate with an average year-round temperature of 80°F (26°C). Grenada experiences two seasons, determined by rainfall rather than temperature. The dry season falls between January and May, when showers are few and sporadic and the land is cooled by northeast trade winds. The rainy season is June to December when conditions are hot and humid and short bursts of heavy rainfall frequently occur. Conditions are humid around the coast but become considerably cooler and wetter toward the mountainous interior. Grenada lies on the edge of the hurricane belt and hurricane season normally runs from June to November.
Annual rainfall is between 200 mm (8 inches) to 300 mm (11 inches).
Overview of Higher Education
Prior to 1968, students went abroad to pursue a higher education. The island had established a teacher-training college and acquired an extramural department of the University of the West Indies by 1974, the year of its independence, after which it founded a number of postsecondary colleges intended to train workers to meet the country’s economic needs. In 1976, St. George’s University School of Medicine was established.
From 1979 to 1983 the People’s Revolutionary Government increased scholarship opportunities for students to study abroad. In 1988 several institutions were merged to create the Grenada National College, which was renamed the T.A. Marryshow Community College in 1996.
(Sources: BBC; The Europa World of Learning; Grenada Ministry of Education; and Human Resource Development, St. George’s University)
Number of Colleges, Universities, Technical Institutes
Number of Colleges, Universities, and Technical Institutes (total): 6
(only 1 full time university - St. George)
Ministry of Education and Higher Resource Development
Botanical Gardens, Tanteen, St. George's, Grenada, W.I.
Web site: http://www.grenadaedu.com/
Contact : Hon. Claris Charles, MP, Minister of Education and Labour