BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – OVER the next five years, the Ministry of Education will implement several sweeping changes to the sector as part of the new development thrust that was recommended by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
UNESCO undertook a two- year study of the local education system, at the end of which an Education Policy document was drafted and officially handed over on Tuesday (Sept. 19) to the Ministry of Education.
According to the Minister of Education, the Hon. Shawn Richards, who accepted the policy document, back in 2014 the Ministry’s leadership took a decision that there was need to develop a five-year sector plan that would be relevant and align the Federation to the broad-base OECS plan.
Additionally, he pointed out that to date the Ministry’s operation has been guided by the 2019 White Paper on Educational Development.
“Central to this new plan will have to be a clear monitoring and evaluation framework and the appropriate cost and financing component to support the efficient planning and execution,” said Richards.
Giving details of several areas highlighted by UNESCO that need to be addressed, the Minister noted that in order to achieve its White Paper Plan on Education, the Ministry requested the assistance of UNESCO which in 2013 had completed a comprehensive review of the Federation’s TVET programme.
The report points to four areas that needed urgent changes within the education sector:
1. Academic Staff Policy;
2. Curriculum Development;
3. Teaching and Learning Environment; and
4. Governance and Management
Critically, the Minister said all four areas draw attention to the reality that like in many countries “quality is an overarching to be addressed in our education system”.
Minister Richards noted that in relation to Academic and Staff quality, eight policy issues were identified, including the enhancement of those in the service and quality assurance and accountability measure for those in the teaching service.
“The report identified that there is need to attract suitably qualified teachers into the teaching profession…which means that we would have to review and revise recruitment practices.”
Chief among the recommendations was the establishment of a Teaching Service Commission, Richards said, alluding to the fact that many young persons have entered the profession shortly after leaving secondary school.
He declared that a review would be undertaken to ensure that those individuals have gained the requisite knowledge and experience before entering the field.
The Minister informed that this was the first such review to be undertaken in the Caribbean and Latin America region.
Director and representative of the Cluster Office for the Caribbean, Kathrine Grigsby, handed over the official document to the Ministers of Education in the Federal Government and the Nevis Island Administration, the Hon. Shawn Richards and the Hon. Vance Amory respectively, in the presence of other education officials at Government Headquarters.
