By Carlena Knight
The Ministry of Education has partnered with an educational institution from the Dominican Republic to help certification at the Antigua and Barbuda Institute of Continuing Education (ABICE).
While plans to retrofit the local learning institution have also been announced, efforts are already being made to ensure that its accreditation and educational product overall is up to par.
Education Minister Daryll Matthew made the announcement while speaking on state media.
“We have partnered with an institution from the Dominican Republic called INFOTEP; it is one of the largest technical institutions in the Dominican Republic.
“You may ask why the DR, and it ticks two important boxes for Antigua and Barbuda.
“One, it is a highly accredited institution that can bring a lot to the table where ABICE is concerned. So, we will have an exchange of lecturers and an exchange of students, but secondly, given that we have a large and growing population from the Dominican Republic in Antigua and Barbuda, we as a government felt that it was important to engage them in a way that they too can become productive members of society and receive the kind of training that will get them up to that level,” Matthew explained.
He said there are plans to partner with other institutions as well.
Matthew explained that once these individuals are properly trained and certified, they can make an even greater contribution to the country’s economy.
“You are aware that many persons from the DR hold some of the lower-level jobs in society but if we can train them along with our indigenous Antiguans and Barbudans, the English-speaking portion of the population, we can now have a much more inclusive society where you can have more persons contributing at a higher level in the country.
“ABICE will certainly become an institution that offers the sort of accreditation that is required to let our citizens and residents be competitive wherever they may go,” Matthew added.
This new partnership comes just months after a two-year programme was launched by the government in partnership with the Caribbean Development Bank and the European Union aimed at implementing a framework to provide certification for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in the country.
At that launch in April, Vice President of Operations at the Caribbean Development Bank, Isaac Solomon, told Observer that funding such an initiative can help end the stigma surrounding technical programmes offered at centres such as ABICE.
Solomon added that the region is highly competitive in the realm of education and the TVET certification framework in Antigua and Barbuda is an example of strengthened and modernised learning across the region.
The expansion project at ABICE has been earmarked by the government as a top priority for months, and in May of this year, while they were in the UK, Prime Minister Gaston Browne and Minister Matthew signed a £4 million (US$4.6 million) grant with British entrepreneur David Harrison – founder of the Harrison Centre for Social Mobility – for the build-out of ABICE,
According to May 26 Cabinet notes, the building is to be completed by October 2022 when Harrison will visit Antigua. The building will also be named after him – “The Harrison Centre Antigua and Barbuda Institute of Continuing Education”.
Work at ABICE is expected to get underway this week.