UWI principal throws out leadership challenge

This was the view of University of the West Indies (UWI) Principal, Bhoe Tewarie, in his address to principals attending the 20th Biannual Conference of the Caribbean held at the Cascadia Hotel yesterday.

Tewarie called on the principals to train the young people in the various schools to be active and purposeful participants, not only in TT society but in the globalised world.

He admonished the principals that their role is critical since they provide leadership to young people and help them mould their lives.

"They do this by the way they present themselves and conduct business, the tone they set for the school, how effectively or ineffectively they manage their teachers and other staff and by the culture they help create, nurture and develop," Tewarie stated.

He maintained that a principal’s role is challenging in today’s world because so much is expected of schools and the education system since "we live in an information rich world in which knowledge and skills, and the application of these by individuals in the workplace is so much in demand in the market."

He acknowledged that there were problems facing the education system as some schools were not educating their students well, while some others were "moving to the extremities" with disciplinary problems, unmanageable students and violence.

Tewarie also highlighted that the CXC and A’ Level systems were under fire as the issues of creativity and critical thinking were being brought to the fore.

"We know this first hand because, at UWI, we are working with Alec Fisher of the Centre for Critical Thinking in East Anglia who is designing and refining these exams," he revealed.

He said that in the region, the CAPE examinations are currently in the process of evaluation and expansion to replace the A’ Level exams entirely.

He said the new exam seeks to be more comprehensive, student centred and more discriminating and which are also approved for university credits.

"We need to create thinkers, doers and innovators who bring a problem solving, entrepreneurial orientation to life and work," Tewarie said.

Also attending the conference were Education Minister Hazel Manning and acting President Linda Baboolal.