Pilot on to Register Tertiary Institutions

Commissioner of the Jamaica Tertiary Education Commission (J-TEC), Maxine Henry-Wilson, says there is currently an ongoing pilot to register tertiary institutions across the island.

She said that through this registration process, the Commission is determining the requirements to have the institutions meet global standards.

Mrs. Henry-Wilson was bringing remarks at a Breakfast Conversation forum, hosted by J-TEC at the Spanish Court Hotel, on December 2, to engage members of the international community and the diplomatic corps.

She said with an increasing number of persons desiring access to tertiary education, quality assurance is a priority, and a rigorous process of registration is the first step.

“The institutions now need to put in place the kinds of programmes that can facilitate a change in the profile of the student population,” Mrs. Henry-Wilson argued.

When legislation governing the J-TEC is passed, registration of institutions will become mandatory, enabling sanctions for those institutions that have not registered.

Mrs. Henry-Wilson said J-TEC has a mandate to create a standard-based, quality-driven tertiary education sector. To this end, J-TEC has developed a national qualification framework.

Meanwhile, J-TEC Chairman, Sir Kenneth Hall, in his remarks, called for further investments in the sector and encouraged more partnerships among the Government, the private sector and the international community.

“What we are seeking to do is infuse in our programmes, the notion that partnership leads to excellence. We want to deepen that relationship so that the Jamaican tertiary education sector will see itself as a partner in this whole process of development, with the support of the international community and especially of the countries represented at the diplomatic and consular level and the international organisations in Jamaica,” he said.

The former Governor-General said the objective is that the institutions will become more responsive to the needs of the Jamaican population, to the needs of the tertiary education students and in particular, the needs of both the public and private sectors.

The J-TEC was established through the Education System Transformation Programme (ESTP) of the Ministry of Education as the regulatory body for tertiary education in Jamaica. J-TEC’s primary mandate is to regulate, standardise, safeguard and transform Jamaica’s tertiary education sector.