On Friday, August 24th, a special day-long conference was held at Teachers’ Resource Centre which brought together teachers and educational personnel from the Department of Education for review of the Education Development Plan 2015 to 2020.
The review, dubbed Education and Training for a Better Future, Vision 2020, enabled the educators to evaluate the performance of the school system over the past year, particularly in light of the setbacks posed by the passage of Hurricane Irma. It also provided the opportunity to review and assess plans for the upcoming school year, which begins in earnest on Monday, September 3rd, as well as to determine the extent to which the plan’s targets have been achieved and to make adjustments where necessary.
While giving an explanation of the review meeting, Education Services Planner, Mrs. Dawn Reid, observed: “This year began with somewhat of a tail spin with the passage of Hurricane Irma. This brought about mammoth challenges within the education system, as we not only had to grapple with making progress on the targets set within our Education Development Plan, but also on rebuilding our basic infrastructure. While we grappled with the challenges of inadequate funding, we had to quickly learn how to do even more with even less. This made monitoring of the education sector even more vital.
“Today’s exercise focuses on reviewing the progress made over the last year against set targets in the Education Development Plan 2015 to 2020, while reviewing the impact and implications of Hurricane Irma on the education sector over the last academic year. As we review, we will determine whether or not we are meeting our targets; whether our targets are still relevant; and what adjustments must be made going forward.”
Permanent Secretary of Education, Mrs. Chanelle Petty-Barrett, began her remarks with an expression of appreciation: “I want to thank everyone for the work you have done over the last academic year. It has probably been one of the most trying years for everyone involved, but I think that through our collaboration, commitment and our love for children we’ve managed to pull through successfully, and I think that you all deserve much applause.”
With regard to the significance of the review exercise, she emphasized: “Our purpose for being her today is to review our progress on the Education Development Plan 2015 to 2020. It is a plan that we all embrace from the Ministry down to school, to ensure that we are headed in the direction that we agreed on at the beginning of the period. I want to reiterate the need for us to continue to work collaboratively — all stakeholders in education, whether it be the Ministry, the department, schools, teachers, parents or the general community. There is a role that every person must play if our students are going to be successful. The important message that we have to get across is that education is everybody’s business.”
Mrs. Petty-Barrett had a gentle note of encouragement for all the educators: “There may be times when you might come under pressure and criticism from the public. There may be times when people may not appreciate what is being done and they may disagree with your decisions. Sometimes it can get frustrating and discouraging. But I just want to encourage all of us to keep at it. In those moments of frustration, when you feel like giving up, just remember who you are doing this for. You are not doing this for yourselves or for your glory, but you are doing this for Anguilla’s children. And when you look into those children’s faces, I am sure that you get the inspiration. That is the reason why you wake up every morning and go to work and give your best. So I just want to encourage you to continue doing that.”
The day-long review comprised of presentations and discussions pertaining to various subsectors of the education system. Presenting on Pre-Primary & Primary Education was Mrs. Susan Smith, Education Officer of that sector; on Secondary Education was Mrs. Rita Carty, the Principal of the ALHCS; and on Technical and Vocational Education and Training was Mr. Alfred Thompson, Chairman of the TVET Council. Finally, a synopsis of the work of the Anguilla Community College was provided by Mr. Quincy Harrigan, Dean of ACC Studies.
