Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ronald Jones. (FP)
Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ronald Jones, has described technical and vocational certification, such as Caribbean Vocational Qualifications (CVQ), as the “right pathway for education in Barbados”.
He made this comment yesterday while addressing a presentation ceremony for the first group of secondary school students to receive Caribbean Vocational Qualifications (CVQ) in Barbados, at the Princess Margaret Secondary School, Six Roads, St. Philip.
Mr. Jones said he was “extremely pleased” to see the young people receive their certificates, although it was a lengthy process.
“It took some years but maturity doesn’t happen in a year’s time; it takes time to reach a critical stage of reality, and a critical stage of understanding…and so this is good for all of you young people,” he stated.
The Minister observed that there was a “strange notion” among Barbadians that the usual academic subjects were superior to technical and vocational studies, and said that he hoped the introduction of the CVQ programme would assist in changing this view.
“When we develop these prejudices that persons not learning in school should do competency-based training, it’s nonsense, [because] if you can’t learn or you won’t learn, you can’t do anything, and therefore you can’t do what you have done to get your certification,” Mr. Jones told the students.
The Education Minister congratulated the recipients and encouraged them not to stop at Level 1 of their CVQ certification, but to pursue their studies until they obtained all levels of their certification.
Over 120 students from secondary schools across the island received certification in areas such as Cosmetology, Home Economics, Food Technology, Masonry and Steel Bending, among others.
deirdre.gittens@barbados.gov.bb