‘Quiet revolution taking place in education’

EDUCATION Minister Hazel Manning disclosed at the Crowne Plaza last Thursday, that a “quiet revolution” was taking place within the education system of this country. “It’s a revolution that supports the Ministry’s vision to be a pacesetter in the holistic development of an individual through the education system, which enables the individual to make meaningful contributions within the global context,” Manning stated.

Distance learning is expected to play a key part as the exercise gains momentum. “The Ministry of Education is engaged in a massive reform exercise which includes the provision of distance education,” the Minister stated. To this end, the Ministry has established a distance education unit. The Minister made the disclosure when she gave the feature address at the launch of the Ministry’s pilot project when she received CXC distance learning materials during a function at Crowne Plaza.

The self-study print materials developed for CXC, with assistance from the British-based Commonwealth of Learning (COL), focuses on selected  subjects and will be piloted in secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago. “This bold initiative marks the beginning of the Ministry’s commitment, in promoting the use of distance learning materials and methodologies to support the existing secondary school curriculum,” Manning said. She explained that not only will the Ministry be training teachers to use distance learning materials in the class room, but parents will be involved as well. The first set of self-study materials was presented to the Minister by president of COL, Professor John Daniel, who also addressed the gathering.