A two-day national education conference is under way today, setting the foundation for reform.
The conference is expected to draw more than 500 participants from a broad cross-section of the community, including teachers, representatives from the business sector, government officials, media, parents and students.
Delegates will be divided into peer working groups to identify problems facing the education systems and come up with possible solutions, said a GIS press release.
Conference Chairman Gareth Long explained working groups will grapple with questions such as: What are the qualities that Cayman Islands students should have by the time they leave our schools? What do schools have to do to develop these qualities in our students? And, what are the obstacles that prevent our schools from developing these qualities?
Questions will also deal with curriculum and personnel issues. Teachers will also have the opportunity to raise any issue they feel is important to them, the release said.
‘For this conference to work, everyone has to feel free to express themselves. There need be no fear of reprisals,’ Education Minister Alden McLaughlin said.
But while encouraging free discussion on what needs to be changed, the Minister said that the conference was not just looking to identify problems.
‘We are aiming to arrive at some real solutions that will make a difference in the lives of this and future generations of students.’
Reports from day one of the conference will be taken forward on Monday, the final day of the conference.
The final report from the conference is expected to be tabled in the Legislature in early October. The document will provide the blueprint for change.
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