Education Policy Review Publication and Press Conference
(ZIZ News) — The St. Kitts and Nevis National Commission for UNESCO, and UNESCO Education Sector at Headquarters in Paris have officially announced the publication of the Education Policy Review for St. Kitts and Nevis.
The ceremony was held at the Parliamentary Lounge in Government Headquarters.
Deputy Prime Minister And Minister of Education, the Hon. Shawn K Richards gave an overview of the process.
“The Ministry of Education has increased its focus on building capacity in education and planning. In 2014, Ministry leadership made the decision that there was the need to develop a five year education sector plan that would, where relevant, align with the priorities of the sub-regional strategies and extend the policies and strategies of the 2009/2019 white paper on education policy and development”, the Minister stated.
Permanent Secretary in The Ministry of Education, Mr. William Vincent Hodge spoke positively of the newly published document.
“This review is an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the education system here in St. Kitts and Nevis. The report has been very well documented and is ready to be made public which will give us the go to begin its implementation”, Permanent Secretary Hodge said.
He said the policy will serve as a tool to refine the system, provide policy support and inform subsequent policy solutions to the current challenges facing our education systems in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Director of UNESCO’s Cluster Office for the Caribbean in Jamaica, Katherine Grigsby referred to the education policy review as a milestone.
“The conducting of such a thorough National Education Policy Review has been agreed to be a major milestone towards the proper alignment of a country’s vis-à-vis. The publication that we are about to officially release today signals the pioneer and visionary posture of the leadership of the Education system here in St. Kitts and Nevis”, she said.
The Education Policy Review document was commissioned by UNESCO and was concluded in November of 2015.
The Review Exercise was the first of its kind in the Latin American and Caribbean region.