STANDARDS IN FOCUS...INTEGRATING STANDARDISATION INTO THE EDUCATION SYSTEM

STANDARDS IN FOCUS…INTEGRATING STANDARDISATION INTO THE EDUCATION SYSTEM

Sep 04, 2016 News

During the month of September, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) joins the call for all stakeholders to unite in the interest of enhancing our children’s education as we commemorate Education Month 2016 in Guyana.
As we make this plea on behalf of our budding future entrepreneurs, businessmen and women, scientists, computer technicians and consumers, it is also imperative that we include Standardisation in the advocacy for improved education in this dear land of ours. Let us learn the lessons from many of those thriving economies of the world.
Many public and private enterprises in developing economies like ours are taking the necessary steps to implement standards to build stakeholder confidence and reap all the added benefits. However, finding employees with the requisite or even minimal knowledge in the area of Standardisation continues to be a challenge. To this end, there is consensus and the belief of many that the subject of Standardization should be integrated in the National educational curricula as it is done in many successful economies.
This approach aims to develop a culture of recognizing the benefits of standards to different spheres of society. The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) alone has developed in excess of 19,500 standards, ranging from food to management to IT and much more. Locally, the GNBS has in its possession over 400 useful national, regional and international standards.
The experts in Standardisation are of the view that if standards are taught at the university level, it will equip graduates with the tools necessary to promote the use and implementation of standards in businesses. This will enhance the competitiveness of businesses through the adoption of a quality culture which ultimately can facilitate access of goods and services to lucrative markets.
In the recent past, ISO had organized a series of regional events aimed at supporting developing countries in defining programmes targeting universities and at developing or strengthening courses on education in Standardization. Through ISO, the GNBS was also given the opportunity to participate in a Regional workshop held to enhance collaboration between National Standards Bureaus and Academia’ which focused on the sharing of experiences as it relates to the implementation of the subject of Standardization in the educational curricula. Countries like Korea, Brazil and Argentina have successfully integrated standards in their curricula at the University level and Korea from the Nursery level.
If standards are implemented in academia, at the nursery and primary levels children will know that standards exist for basic things they play with or use on a daily basis. For example, there are standards for toys, traffic lights, television, shoes, clothes, safety signs, etc. Conversely, they will know what happens if there are no standards. Meanwhile, at the secondary and university levels, graduates will be familiar with the management system standards applicable for managing different types of businesses. They will understand the benefits of implementing standards and be familiar with standards that are available for different products and services.
Generally, the role of standards in everyday life will be better recognized facilitating better conformance to standards by businesses, and the functions of the National Standards Body and other sources of standards will also be known. Further, integrating Standardisation in the educational curricula will also increase the demand for quality goods and services, compliance to regulations and reduced customer complaints.
In closing, the GNBS will continue to grasp at every opportunity to participate in science and career fairs, lectures and training sessions organized by the Ministry of Education or those institutions falling under its purview to ensure that the knowledge of Standardisation is brought to the forefront to ensure that a culture of standards and quality pervades all sectors of our economy and society.

For further information, contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 219-0062 – 66 or visit our website www.gnbsgyorg or facebook/gnbsgy

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