For the year 2000, adult illiteracy rates were estimated at 1.8% (males, 1.0%; females, 2.5%). In 1997, the islands had 476 primary schools with 7,311 teachers and 181,030 students. Secondary schools enrolled 104,349 pupils and employed 5,070 teachers in that same year. The pupil-teacher ratio at the primary level was 21 to 1 in 1999. In the same year, 93% of primary-school-age children were enrolled in school, while 64% of those eligible attended secondary school. Many schools are run jointly by the state and religious bodies. Education is free at primary and secondary levels and compulsory for seven years. Elementary education lasts for seven years, followed by five years of secondary education. As of 1995, public expenditure on education was estimated at 3.2% of GDP.
At the post-secondary level, government technical vocational schools and teachers colleges are free for qualified students. There are four small, government-run technical colleges, five teachers colleges, and two polytechnic institutes. The University of the West Indies has a faculty of engineering, arts, and agriculture at its Trinidad campus. John F. Kennedy College, a liberal arts school outside Port-of-Spain built with a us$30-million grant from the Agency for International Development (AID), has teaching facilities for about 600 students. The Trinidad and Tobago Hotel School offers courses for the hotel, catering, and travel industries. The Eastern Caribbean Institute of Agriculture and Forestry is located in St. Augustine. In 1997, 6,007 students were estimated to be enrolled at the universities and equivalent institutions.