ROADTOWN Tortola BVI, September 7th, 2012  –  With an aim to strengthen the Education Sector, the Education Act, 2004 and the Early Childhood Regulations will be amended to facilitate the continuous advancement of the Territory’s education system.

This was announced by His Excellency the Governor Mr. Boyd McCleary, CMG, CVO while delivering the Speech from the Throne at the First Sitting of the Second Session of the Second House of Assembly on September 3.

In his address, His Excellency the Governor said, “The Ministry of Education and Culture has taken its mandate to ensure that this Territory continues to develop despite the present and future global challenges we may face. In this vein a number of pieces of legislation will be amended during the course of 2013 for the benefit of the people of this Territory.”

He highlighted the work done to facilitate amendments to the Education Act and its regulations. “Extensive consultation with key stakeholders has already taken place on the general education regulations and these regulations will be reviewed and amended in the coming year.”

The Governor continued, “The revised Regulations will outline specific areas as provided for in the legislation to ensure that matters can be appropriately dealt with in our school system.”

He added, “They will provide guidance to the education system and all its stakeholders regarding the implementation of programmes and services. They will also provide for monitoring of the delivery of education programmes operated under the Act, and provide services and processes for the conduct of school supervision, as well as the investigation of complaints made by members of the public.”

With regards to the Early Childhood Regulations, the Governor said, “The development of the Early Childhood Regulations will also ensure that clear parameters are set and allowed to guide key stakeholders involved in the growth and development of the most impressionable age group of this generation.”

He expounded, “The vast majority of our pre-primary learning centres are privately owned, hence there is an increasing need to ensure that we examine carefully the quality of education offered to our youngest students before they enter into formal education.”

This was formalised by the Minister for Education and Culture Honourable Myron V. Walwyn in his remarks to educators at the Professional Development Day. “The vision is to ensure that each child in the Virgin Islands is adequately prepared in those formative years so when they move on to primary school they have already been provided with a good foundation for our primary and later secondary educators to build on,” he said, adding, “We are working on creating a closer working relationship and better monitoring of what is being taught in the early learning centres.”

The Education Act is the legislative document aimed to guide, manage and direct all aspects of education while the Early Childhood Regulations aids in the monitoring of the quality of service offered at various early childhood educational centres. This includes the curriculum, physical structure and staffing in addition to the cognitive, socio-emotional and physical development of the students.

Other pieces of legislation to be strengthened which fall under the Ministry of Education and Culture include the UNESCO Act, 2009, the Library Act which dates back to 1974 and the Prison Act which dates back to 1956.

The Speech from the Throne is delivered at the beginning of each new session of the House of Assembly by the Governor. It is prepared by Government on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen in whom the executive authority is vested and who is also part of the legislature. It is the vehicle used by the elected Government to set out its legislative programme for the ensuing year.

The Ministry of Education and Culture remains committed to strengthening the Educational Sector as it strives to “Create a Culture of Excellence.”

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