Quality
At both primary and secondary levels, the quality of education is a key problem despite successful increase in participation. National tests in primary schools and the results from international studies show unsatisfactory performance. In the primary education sub-sector, a major contemporary issue is the shortage of qualified and trained teachers and a lack of incentives to encourage excellent teachers to work in remote areas, especially in teaching Mathematics, Science and English language. Large numbers of small-size schools due to low birth rates and increasing number of students attending better-endowed schools in urban areas also affect the quality of education provision. Shortages of teachers, inadequate per-student funding and shortage of learning materials especially in subjects that require the use of information and communication technologies are the major factors that undermine the equitable provision of quality education. The quality of primary education varies significantly by geographic locations, which explains the wide disparities in educational attainment of students. In secondary schools, class sizes are quite high. The quality of English language instruction is also very weak.