By Robert A. Emmanuel
Director of Education Clare Browne said the Education Sector Strategy for 2023 to 2028 will help to bring the country’s education system into the 21stcentury.
The government recently granted permission for the new five-year policy paper to be ratified where the objective was to strengthen the education system through a multi-pronged approach.
Speaking to Observer media on Monday, Browne gave details on specific objectives.
“The education sector plan for the next five years entails eight strategic imperatives as we continue to expand our educational facilities and physical facilities to ensure that we provide students with their best possible educational environment that is conducive to learning,” he said.
One of those strategic imperatives Browne highlighted was the professional development of teachers.
“One of the things we realised is that even during Covid, we had a problem where we had to introduce our teachers to online learning and teaching in an online environment which is not the same as teaching in the classroom space and so we realised that we have had to provide teachers with the requisite training,” Director Browne explained.
He said that the Ministry of Education has had to move to a “hybrid” approach for instruction, considering the disaster-prone nature of the region.
“We must be able to, even in an emergency situation, ensure that education continues … and all the other sectors are using electronic means to improve upon what they do, so we need to use technology to ensure that education delivery is greatly improved,” he added.
In 2020, as the pandemic limited face-to-face interaction, the then acting head of the teachers’ union decried the lack of training that accompanied the government’s transition to online learning platforms.
Another area that is a heavy focus of the government has been early childhood education, which Browne noted was a key tenet for the new education policy.
“We don’t have universal early childhood education yet, but we have [improved access to it] as we continue to expand and build more public early childhood facilities,” Director Browne explained.
To date, the government-run preschools include Simon Bolivar Preschool, the Maria Holder Early Childhood and Resource Centre in Buckley’s, the Greenbay Preschool and another facility in Villa. However, the administration said it plans to add more early childhood learning centres in other communities in the near future.
“We recognise the importance of early stimulation if children are going to do well, even at the university level, and so they must have the right start,” Browne said.