Educators Central to Moulding Human Capital – State Minister
By: , July 21, 2023
Photo: Mark Bell
Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hon. Alando Terrelonge, delivers the keynote address at the Caribbean Union of Teachers 41st Biennial Conference, held today (July 21), at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, in New Kingston. At right is President of the Union, Dr. Garth Anderson.
Photo: Mark Bell
Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hon. Alando Terrelonge (right), is greeted by President of the Caribbean Union of Teachers, Dr. Garth Anderson, on his arrival at the Union’s 41st Biennial Conference, held today (July 21), at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.The Full Story
Educators are central to moulding human capital in Caribbean societies, says Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hon. Alando Terrelonge.
Delivering the keynote address at the Caribbean Union of Teachers 41st Biennial Conference, held Friday, July 21 at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, Mr. Terrelonge said the region’s teachers are “moulding the human capital of the future”.
“Teacher development and standardising procedures and practices remain a critical area of focus. In pursuit of universal and inclusive education, we need to strive for equity and quality in our delivery of education, and an investment in our teachers is an investment in the education of the human capital of the region,” the State Minister said.
Noting that the CARICOM Skilled Workers Programme, launched in March 2023 with a Teacher’s Component, offers the opportunity for work attachments and collaboration for the region’s secondary-school teachers to gain exposure and learn best practices, the State Minister said it is also about sensitising the mechanisms of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), and the “benefits of free movement”.
Mr. Terrelonge said the stated objective for all categories of CARICOM nationals to enjoy free movement within the region by March 2024 will be a future in which skilled labour, including teachers and other professionals, enjoy “enormous opportunities for the further sharing of best practices, as we navigate new challenges”.
He also highlighted another example of “successful regional cooperation” in the partnership developed through the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) .as a “mainstay of the region’s education architecture” since its inception in 1972.
“Today, the CXC’s impact has expanded to cover issues relating to the preparation of syllabuses and the setting of examinations, as well as the issuing of certificates and diplomas, offering a comprehensive suite of qualifications across differing ages, the training of teachers, and the provision of technical services to Ministries of Education, among others,” Mr. Terrelonge said.
The event was held under the theme ‘Collaborations and Partnerships: Networking for Regional Success’.