Code Caribbean is being embraced for the potential it holds for education, both nationally and regionally.
This sentiment was conveyed as the island’s Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Kay McConney, and her counterpart in Belize, Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Technology, Francis Fonseca, virtually addressed the launch of the project last Tuesday.
Minister McConney said: “This initiative comes at a crucial time in our nation’s history when we are seeking to transition our education system from one that is anchored in the vestiges of our past, towards one that embraces diverse educational thought that’s more geared to equipping our citizens to successfully compete in a modern world in ever changing times.”
Noting that the world was advancing rapidly, scientifically and technologically, she welcomed the collaboration with Code Caribbean to further enhance the creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking skills among the island’s school-aged population. “Coding, as an area of new and evolved thinking and skill, … permeates every facet of everyday life. Whether it’s our cell phones or calculators or washing machines or televisions, just to name a few, [they] require code to function effectively,” she stated.
Recalling that in 2021 Barbados introduced coding in its nursery, primary, secondary and special schools, the Education Minister said: “We intend to ensure that our children are appropriately exposed at an early age and as they develop a better understanding of their world, it opens their minds to the perceived opportunities where they can learn and contribute to home-grown solutions using programming and the skills that come with coding.
“While our first form students will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this Code Caribbean project, teachers will be empowered through their engagement in professional development activities that will serve to widen their technological knowledge base and to hone their computational skills. The desired effect is to build the capacity of our local teaching complement in pursuit of our mandate to deliver a high quality education.”
Minister McConney stressed Government’s commitment to improving the quality and the utility of education, especially in relation to science and technology, and noted this was a significant part of the reason for the implementation of a coding and robotics curriculum in the last academic year.
Expressing gratitude to the partners and funding agencies as well as principals and teachers for their support, the Education Minister remarked: “This is a worthwhile venture that can contribute to national development and regional development to the creation of an evolved and a progressive society. So, Barbados is in and we say let us continue to work together to obtain the results that will deliver benefits for us all.”
Meanwhile, Belize’s Education Minister, Francis Fonseca, echoing similar views, emphasized that his country’s participation in the project reflected its commitment to promoting the teaching and learning of science and technology throughout their education system, “with a view to cultivating and developing Belizeans, who would be able to think and act in ways which will lead to national development”. He noted that the Belize Education Sector Plan 2021-2025 identified technology as being a central element, where Belizeans must embrace its use, and be bold, creative and progressive in its application to the needs and requirements of their education system.
Also outlining his Ministry’s achievement in the technological realm, since 2021, Mr. Fonseca said of the initiative: “We look forward to seeing this programme grow over the next two academic years and to working with Code Caribbean to expand the technological skills that are key to innovation and diversity for students moving into secondary school. Increased access to science and technology will help to close the learning gaps that became so glaringly evident because of COVID.
“It will advance efforts at inclusion for those who are left behind with traditional teaching methods; it will highlight the ways in which the education system and the private sector can work together for national development. Ultimately, we recognise that our efforts here will have far reaching benefits for our nation and our world.”
The Code Caribbean Project is a joint partnership of the Ministries of Education, the Inter-American Development Bank, Trust for the Americas, Code.Org, the Porticus Foundation, and Japan.