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Education gaining keen attention of Caricom Heads
Education has been gaining immense attention in the Region, so much so that the Heads of Government have been examining the issue of education and have even proposed to address the quality of education offered. The Heads have also been addressing human resource development.
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And according to Minister of Sport and Development of Saint Lucia, Mr. Shawn Edward, during a recent visit to the Caricom Secretariat headquarters at Turkeyen, efforts have firstly been focused on the development of a Human Resource Development (HRD) Strategy which will focus on a systemic reform of education in the Region. This move, according to him, is designed to address the development of a 21st century economy and society region-wide.
In this regard, he pointed out that a Commission on Human Resource Development has been tasked with the development of the Strategy and has already started its work. The Commission is expected to report on its progress in February of 2017.
“Leveraging our human and cultural assets for development will require a strategy which actively addresses the appropriate development and nurturing of creativity in our children from earlier stages,” said Edward.
And he pointed out that “creativity is a precursor of innovation, and continued nurturing of the creative talent of our children and youth needs to be done in education systems that are themselves creative in the way they treat with different abilities and aptitudes,” said the Sport and Development Minister. He therefore underscored that efforts in this regard are essential to build creative industries in the Region.
Edward also observed that new technologies have changed not only the way that people communicate, but also the way in which people create. Moreover, he asserted that “acquiring digital skills is also crucial. The digital divide poses an additional layer of inequality, and is one which we cannot afford to ignore,” he added.
Currently, he disclosed, the Region’s education systems are not geared to develop the critical mass of young people to take advantage of the new opportunities available. As such he disclosed that there needs to be a shift in the thinking of the people of the Region and the valuing of areas of the education curriculum, even as efforts are made to recognise the importance of critical thinking and creativity, and innovation disposition, to succeed in the ‘knowledge economy’ and society as a whole.
“Our systems have often relegated the very subject areas in which some of our students are naturally gifted to the margins of the curriculum, often robbing them of opportunities to succeed in schooling and also depriving others of opportunities to experience even better outcomes,” related Edward.
According to him, research has demonstrated quite conclusively the links between exposure to the arts, for example music and drama, and enhanced outcomes in other areas. These issues, he added, are related to the re-orientation of teachers, and teacher education, which will certainly be among those to be addressed at the level of the Commission on Human Resource Development.
“We need to engage our youths, envisioning and transforming education and youth development,” said Edward, who added that “leveraging our human and cultural assets for the sustainable development of our Region would require a shift in thinking on the part of policy makers, youths, parents, teachers, students, administrators and others in the community.” He also pointed out that efforts will also require specific policies and strategies to enable the desired change.
“I am sure that we are equal to the task,” said an optimistic Edward.
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