EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES IN THE CARIBBEAN

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EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES IN THE CARIBBEAN

• Senator Hazel Manning
• Minister of Education
• Trinidad and Tobago

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IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

• To the man-in-the-street Education is seen as
• The panacea for change and the promise of a
  better quality of life

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IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

• To the politician education is seen as
• A solution to poverty alleviation, social
  mobility, equality of opportunity, social
  problems, management of the changes in values
  system.
• The key to productivity and human resource
  development.

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IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

• To the teacher, education is seen as
• That which should contribute to the development
  of the potential of the child to contribute to
  the development of the nation and by extension,
  World Development

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THE CARIBBEAN

• Relatively small population (21M)
• Small land area
• Limited natural resources
• Range of diversity
• High level of dependency on international forces
• Economic vulnerability

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EDUCATION REFORM

• The perceptions of the importance of education
  and the limitations faced by the Caribbean both
  in terms of quality and quantity has resulted in
  education reform throughout the Caribbean region.

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EDUCATION REFORM

• The implication of globalization makes it
  necessary to reform our education systems for
  it requires us to adapt our own education content
  to meet not only our local demands, but also our
  international concerns.

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MAJOR CHALLENGES

• Economic
• Youth unemployment
• Skill shortages in key areas of the economy
• New jobs associated with higher technology
  occupations requiring higher entry levels
• A mismatch between the graduates and the
  available jobs.

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MAJOR CHALLENGES

• Social
• Receding influence of the family
• A conduit for the Illicit international drug
  trade
• High crime rate and gang warfare
• HIV/AIDS increasingly the cause of death rate
  for those between the age of 15 and 45 years

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MAJOR CHALLENGES

• ICTs
• How do we effectively integrate the new ICTs
  into all aspects of education provision?

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MAJOR CHALLENGES

• The Changing Environment
• The nature and organization of work
• The need for retraining and retooling
• The important role of knowledge as a factor of
  production
• The emphasis on Information Technology

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MAJOR CHALLENGES

• Political
• A robust democracy
• Peace
• A creation of a state of esteem

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MAJOR CHALLENGES

• Educational
• Existing curriculum content and pedagogical
  methods are being questioned
• Students leave school ill-prepared for the world
  of work and adulthood.
• High incidence of illiteracy and numeracy.
• Marked gender differences in achievement.
• Curriculum changes without the necessary changes
  in assessment

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MAJOR CHALLENGES

• Educational contd
• Untrained teachers at the Early Childhood,
  Primary and Secondary levels
• Student under-performance
• High levels of student attrition
• Student repetition of grade levels
• Harmonization of curriculum and assessment across
  the region

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MAJOR CHALLENGES

• Educational contd
• Inadequate policy for recruitment and selection
  of teachers
• Lack of systems of certification, evaluation and
  licensing of teachers
• Unsure about the place of Tech/Voc in secondary
  schools
• The harmonization of competencies, skills for
  certification of students for the world of work
• Facilitating the success of the CSME

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MAJOR CHALLENGES

• There seems to be no other alternative right now
  and in the near future for countries in the
  Caribbean but to collaborate in all areas of
  development utilizing the new technologies and
  benefiting from those that have begun the change
  process, at the same time maximizing the
  resources at their immediate disposal.

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CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION

• Thank You