Dear Editor,
I wish to respond to comments made by State Minister Floyd Green in the Jamaica Observer of Thursday, March 24, 2016 regarding the “preparation of our young people for work at an early age”.
This is a plausible statement with positive economic implications. However, it will not be efficiently and sustainably realised unless there is a clear alignment between our strategic national goals, as voiced in Vision 2030, and the various levels of curricula throughout our educational system. For each of our strategic goals, there is a cluster of educational concepts, skills and attitudes that are required. Have we identified and mapped these strategic goals to the multi-level, multi-stage learning outcomes in our educational master plan? Have these master concepts and competencies been effectively segmented and assigned to the appropriate educational levels (and strategic institutions) for achieving the national strategic vision, or is everyone pretty much doing their own thing in their own corner?
While I support the comment, I suggest that we actively review and revise our educational master plan for full congruence with our national strategic goals. For the most part, we merely continue to “educate” with very little underpinning aims, purpose or synergised coordination for Jamaica’s real needs. Each educational institution and educator must receive a clear mandate and, where appropriate, must be held accountable for achieved results. Let us get it right!
Deju Nation, PhD
Chair, Mathematics & Engineering
Northern Caribbean University (NCU),
dnation@ncu.edu.jm
I wish to respond to comments made by State Minister Floyd Green in the Jamaica Observer of Thursday, March 24, 2016 regarding the “preparation of our young people for work at an early age”.
This is a plausible statement with positive economic implications. However, it will not be efficiently and sustainably realised unless there is a clear alignment between our strategic national goals, as voiced in Vision 2030, and the various levels of curricula throughout our educational system. For each of our strategic goals, there is a cluster of educational concepts, skills and attitudes that are required. Have we identified and mapped these strategic goals to the multi-level, multi-stage learning outcomes in our educational master plan? Have these master concepts and competencies been effectively segmented and assigned to the appropriate educational levels (and strategic institutions) for achieving the national strategic vision, or is everyone pretty much doing their own thing in their own corner?
While I support the comment, I suggest that we actively review and revise our educational master plan for full congruence with our national strategic goals. For the most part, we merely continue to “educate” with very little underpinning aims, purpose or synergised coordination for Jamaica’s real needs. Each educational institution and educator must receive a clear mandate and, where appropriate, must be held accountable for achieved results. Let us get it right!
Deju Nation, PhD
Chair, Mathematics & Engineering
Northern Caribbean University (NCU),
dnation@ncu.edu.jm