Adequate preparation of the Region's work force to reap the benefits being afforded by the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and a globalised world will be among the core issues on the agenda for Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ministers and officials when the Eleventh Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) convenes in Georgetown, 28-29 October 2004.
Inherent in the Region's preparedness for the implementation of the CSME and its engagement in the World Trade and Free Trade arenas, is the equipping of a highly skilled workforce to take full advantage of the free movement of persons within the Region and beyond, as opportunities are opened up. To this end, the COHSOD will set out to respond to the challenges of globalisation and its implications for education in the Region.
The introduction of universal secondary education in Member States has made it imperative for officials to use the upcoming Meeting of the COHSOD as a platform to review the delivery of education to reach the varying aptitudes and abilities of students at the secondary and tertiary levels. In this vein, officials are set to examine accreditation procedures for qualifications and employment both within and outside the Region.
The streamlining of technical and vocational education and training are also high on the Eleventh COHSOD agenda, where proposals for the development of the Caribbean Vocational Qualifications (CVQ) will be tabled.
CARICOM Heads at their Eighteenth Meeting in 1997 had initially envisioned the redefining of human resource development in the Region to prepare citizens for the new demands of the 21st century and the CSME. The reshaping of secondary and higher education is therefore seen as a criterion for the Region's response to challenges posed by trade liberalisation within the context of the trade in services.
Other issues that will be addressed by the COHSOD include gender mainstreaming in education and the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the education system. Social issues such as the introduction of health and family life programmes and violence in schools are also expected to come into focus at the two-day Meeting of the COHSOD.
CARICOM Secretariat's Deputy Secretary-General, Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite is slated to deliver remarks at the opening ceremony, along with Minister of Education of Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Hazel Manning. Guyana's Education Minister, Dr. Henry Jeffrey will also address the opening ceremony.
Contact:
Rose Blenman
rblenman@caricom.org
