‘Dismantle TVET stigma’

WESTERN BUREAU:

Dr Darien Henry, principal of the Montego Bay Community College (MBCC), says stigma against technical and vocational education and training must be end for students to advance in the modern working world after leaving school.

Speaking at Wednesday’s graduation ceremony of the Institute of Vocational Education and Skills Training Limited (INVEST), which took place at the Mount Salem Seventh-day Adventist Church in Montego Bay, Henry suggested that high school students should be required to pursue at least one TVET subject alongside traditional academic subjects like English and mathematics.

“A significant hurdle we must confront is the stigma around TVET, and truth be told, it has its deep roots in slavery. Though Jamaica has since modernised its TVET pathways, remnants of that colonial hierarchy still persist. The stigma did not emerge recently, as it is rooted in historical assumptions about the purpose of education and who it is meant to serve,” said Henry.

“We must decisively reject this outdated notion that TVET is only reserved for students who can use their hands. That mindset remains a psychological barrier within parts of our education system,” added Henry.

“One strategic step that could finally dismantle the lingering stigma is a harmonisation of STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – and TVET. This effort could be further strengthened by requiring every single secondary school student to pursue at least one technical subject alongside strong performance in the core areas of English, mathematics, and a science subject.”

In May 2023, the Ministry of Education announced at the sixth International Conference on TVET in the Caribbean that steps were being taken to introduce TVET subjects at the primary school level, to equip students with the knowledge and skills to meet present-day labour market needs.

Fayval Williams, the education minister at the time, said that legislative changes would be made to allow the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) to give TVET programmes the same accreditation that traditional academic programmes would receive.

Subsequently, in April 2024, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) announced that it would reverse its decision to suspending certification for green engineering and electrical and electronic engineering technology at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) level, and agricultural science (double award) and industrial technology’s mechanical engineering option at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) level. The original proposed discontinuation, which would have taken effect in September this year, was due to low enrolment.

Henry also told Wednesday’s graduation service that Jamaica’s early childhood education system must be well-rounded to ensure that children, particularly boys, are balanced in all subject areas to include digital and scientific training.

“We must ensure that from early childhood through secondary education, our students must be bright, and bwoy pickney fi bright. We have to spend some time as a country to make sure that our early childhood education system is ensconced around reading, writing, oral communication, numeracy, digital literacy, and scientific literacy,” said Henry.

“The rapid acceleration of digitisation in the workplace also demands urgent national attention. We need a coordinated national training initiative to strengthen the pathways to ensure that the workforce is empowered,” Henry continued. “In practical terms, transformative change in our education system can begin with some focused, strategic steps, including the removal of those psychological barriers that have limited our view of technical excellence.”

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com