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The Ministry of Education in Saint Kitts and Nevis is launching today, 17 November 2017, its new Education Sector Plan. Under the theme Education for all: embracing change, securing the future, the new plan is a roadmap for action over the next five years until 2021.
The plan’s ultimate goal is to ensure that all learners are equipped with the relevant skills needed to be successful both locally and globally in today’s world. To this end, it aims to make widespread improvements to the provision and administration of education, and targets areas such as teacher training, curriculum reform, leadership and accountability, and equitable access and participation in education.
The key policy issues in the new plan include:
- Improving equitable access to and participation in education at all levels;
- Strengthening the quality and relevance of education at all levels, thereby improving learning outcomes;
- Enhancing governance, planning, and management to improve efficiency and effectiveness throughout the sector.
Shawn K. Richards, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, wrote in the plan: “The successful implementation of the activities will result in the provision of holistic and lifelong education for all. This will contribute to sustainable development, build civic responsibility, and foster in individuals the ability to succeed locally and globally.”
In line with national, regional, and global goals
The plan also supports the country’s vision of providing holistic lifelong education for all and responds to the developmental priorities outlined in a number of national policy and strategy documents. Additionally, it reflects the Federation’s commitment to regional and global education movements, such as the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) 2012-2021 sub-regional education sector strategy (OESS) and the fourth Sustainable Development Goal for education (SDG 4).
Overcoming challenges
While St. Kitts and Nevis has secured a 100 percent transition rate from primary to secondary school for both girls and boys, there are still major challenges in retaining students.
Universal secondary school has been part of the education system for decades, but nearly 20 percent of children are not being retained until the end of the cycle. The plan includes measures to help address this.
Levels of achievement are also below standard, with approximately half of all secondary students meeting literacy standards, 35 percent passing Mathematics, and only 18 percent performing successfully in at least five subjects, including Mathematics and English, on the Caribbean Examination Council Certificate of Secondary Education Competence exams.
Technical support from IIEP
IIEP-UNESCO provided technical support to the Ministry of Education throughout the preparation of the plan and more specifically on programme development and on costing and financing g of the plan.
Watch a video of the launch of the education sector plan here:
