Ministry of Education

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Minister of Education, Andrew Holness, converses with Campus Registrar of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, Dr. Camille Bell-Hutchinson, during the Graduates' Research Conference, put on by the School of Education at the UWI on May 9.

Minister of Education, Andrew Holness, has said that the Ministry will be working closely with the University of the West Indies (UWI) in conducting research that will aid with better policy results.

"As a policy maker I can tell you that research makes better policy.a researcher makes a better policy maker. That is why I am eager to forge closer ties with the UWI generally and the School of Education specifically. A significant amount of research is needed at the senior policy level in the Ministry of Education and we realize that much of that research work is already done or is currently being pursued by faculty and students at the UWI," Mr. Holness said.

He was speaking at the Graduates' Research Conference, themed: 'Closing the Achievement Gaps for the Advancement of Education,' put on by the School of Education of the UWI at its Mona Campus today (May 9).

Mr. Holness pointed out that research "is an essential element of the scholarly process. It is a human activity based on intellectual investigation aimed at discovering, interpreting and revising human knowledge on different aspects of the world."

"Universities," he went on, "are the research arm of the nation and they play a key role in developing our store of knowledge, our ability to master and manage our environment and to govern and grow our societies."

Mr. Holness also informed that he had recently met with the leadership of the School of Education to discuss establishing a closer working relationship (with the Ministry) in order to maximize resources.

To this end, a protocol for cooperation was developed. This included setting up a joint committee between the Ministry of Education and the School of Education and inviting members from the School of Education to sit in on senior management meetings at the Ministry.

"An important thing came out of the discussion and that is much of the work that is being done is pure work, pure science, pure research. What we do in the Ministry is often times driven by concerns other than academic interests. Our work is sometimes driven by financial concerns. So the scope of our research is limited according to the money we have, not just to do the research but the money we budget for our programmes," Mr. Holness said.

He went on to note that the Ministry could benefit from the pure pursuit of research, and that "that is the beauty of us trying to strike this protocol for cooperation, because I believe that the Ministry of Education needs an infusion of pure ideas that are not bounded by our own concepts of limitations, because it is in those limitations that we sometimes limit ourselves and end up not solving the problems, and so I'm looking forward to cooperating very closely with the School of Education."

Mr. Holness further informed that the Ministry had engaged the school in assisting to review, analyze, and revise the Caribbean Examination Council's examination (CXC) results. "I have asked the School of Education to take a deeper look at the statistics to give us a better understanding of where our schools are and how we can rank them, and that I believe has started," the Education Minister noted.

He also disclosed that the School of Education had begun to assist the Ministry with how best to deal with students who fail the Grade Four Literacy Test.

"We will have to determine what to do with the residual of students who do not pass the Grade Four Literacy Test and so I have asked the School of Education to look into that to give me an idea as to what that residual would be and where best to accommodate them, and how best to deal with them," he said.

The Education Minister noted further that the UWI had significant resources with which to provide services to the Government, the society and businesses and that the "new paradigm of cooperation" has to be one in which the University profits from its services.

"We don't have to hire foreign consultants all the time that when we have simple problems we can pass it on to the UWI, (where) we have many brilliant students to research problems that are relatively simple problems that just need maybe senior guidance in how the research should be conducted and then we pay for the service," the Minister said.

He noted too that the UWI does good research generally from which the Ministry has already benefited. "We have benefited from the skills and the resources here. Early childhood education for one has benefited significantly," he said.

Mr. Holness congratulated the School of Education for hosting the research conference and said he was confident that the outcome would be beneficial to the Ministry and the nation as a whole.

Meanwhile, Director of the School of Education, Dr. Beverly Bryan promised that on behalf of the school "we.intend to work very closely with you (Mr. Holness) and with the Ministry so that we can see some improvement in the education system."

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