Secondary education is the bridge between primary school and the adult world, whether that means higher education or the labor market. Its importance goes beyond the individual: a population with complete secondary education is key to increasing a country's competitiveness and GDP.
Secondary education fulfills four fundamental purposes for young people and for society: preparing students to access higher education; preparing them for the world of work; fostering their social and personal development; and, in the Latin American context, providing compensatory education to those who completed primary school without mastering basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills.
The World Bank recognizes that secondary education is a strategic investment that countries in Latin America and the Caribbean can make to break the cycle of poverty, reduce inequality, and prepare their population for a knowledge economy. The support combines large-scale financing, targeted technical assistance, measurement tools, and sustained policy dialogue with governments in the region, with the goal of ensuring that every young person can complete a quality secondary education that opens doors to university and decent employment.
