Higher education in Latin America falling short

Access to higher education in Latin America has improved by leaps and bounds, but programmes on offer are of variable quality, a World Bank report has concluded.

The number of students enrolled in higher education programmes across Latin America has nearly doubled in the past decade, according to a World Bank report published on 17 May. Forty-three per cent of 18 to 24 year olds were enrolled in higher education in the region in 2013, compared with 21 per cent in 2000, it said.

But the report, At a Crossroads: Higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean, noted that only half the students enrolled have graduated on time. About half of the students aged between 25 and 29 have not completed their degree either because they are still studying, or because they have dropped out.