Students need to be literate in the basic building blocks of education as well as be equipped with computer skills and good interpersonal skills by the time they leave school.
Those were among the findings gathered from the two-day National Education Conference, which wrapped up Monday at Red Bay Primary School.
Feedback from the more than 600 delegates attending the conference will provide the framework for A National Consensus on the Future of Education in the Cayman Islands, a report to be tabled in the Legislature on 7 October that will provide the blueprint for reform, said Education Minister Alden McLaughlin.
‘I’m overwhelmed by the effort they’re giving and by the frankness with which people responded, which is what we wanted,’ Mr. McLaughlin said at Monday’s session. ‘It’s a very hard-hitting list of issues.’
Input from Friday’s workings sessions – where delegates met in small groups to identify issues facing the education system and recommend solutions – was collated over the weekend into a working draft for the final report.
More than 450 pages of feedback were collected from conference delegates, along with some 30 pages of public input local media had gathered earlier. That information was distilled into an 18-page report and distributed Monday.
Delegates spent the day paring down the issues to come up with a top 10 list in each category which ranged from curriculum to the education service. They also recommended actions needed to address these challenges and their budget implication.
From there, the final report will be drawn up and made public when presented to the Legislature. The Minister expects reforms to be implemented by the 2006-07 school year.
Sample of findings
On Monday, Chief Schools Inspector Helena McVeigh gave a sample of the findings, presenting some of the suggestions delegates gave on what qualities young people should have by the time they graduate.
She said literacy in the basics – reading, writing and arithmetic – was the first quality listed by the majority of the working groups. Computer competency, good interpersonal skills and problem-solving abilities were other qualities that topped the list. A positive attitude, high self-esteem, adaptability, good work habits and reliability were also mentioned.
‘It gives a flavour of the well-rounded student that we want to see coming from our schools,’ said Ms McVeigh.
This was the first time Government invited participation from the broader community in the conference, which brought teachers and education officials together with parents, students, politicians and representatives from the private sector.
‘It’s an absolutely excellent tool to measure the opinions of the wider community about what we need to do to repair the education system and improve it,’ said Chamber of Commerce CEO Wil Pineau.
He added the conference is a good first step towards developing a skilled workforce to meet the needs of employers.
‘Employers are crying out for competent, skilled, motivated workers,’ he said. ‘We’re creating more jobs than can be filled by Caymanians and the situation isn’t going to get any better with the development over the next five years.
‘We need to get the education system right so that the Caymanian people can take their rightful place in these jobs.’
Related Videos
