Connect with leading educators, policymakers, and innovators to explore the future of education in the Caribbean and beyond, under the theme–Navigating the Digital Age: Rethinking Teaching, Learning and Assessment.

Take advantage of the limited early bird registration discount by 19 August and register at: https://conference.cxc.org

“The proposed CARICOM Education Transformation Commission was also discussed. This is devised to drive a unified equity-based education reform agenda across the Region.  In particular, we discussed how it can be operationalised in a manner that ensures its sustainability and does not compound the requirements of Member States.”

In a strong show of leaders’ commitment to education transformation, CARICOM Chair and Prime Minister of Jamaica, Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, ON, PC, MP, announced the advancement of a bold initiative to enhance education across the Caribbean Community: the CARICOM Education Transformation Commission.

Speaking at the closing media conference of the 49th Regular Meeting of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government, held from 6–8 July in Montego Bay, Prime Minister Holness confirmed that the Commission was a key topic of discussion among regional leaders.

He emphasised that the body is intended to drive a unified, equity-based reform agenda for education, designed to uplift learning outcomes and create consistent educational opportunities across Member States.

“In particular, we discussed how it can be operationalised in a manner that ensures its sustainability and does not compound the requirements of Member States,” stated Dr Holness.

The proposed Commission signals a renewed commitment to education as a cornerstone of regional development and social equity. The CARICOM Chair explained that leaders explored collaborative approaches that will ensure long-term success and impactful implementation without overextending national capacities.

During the Meeting’s opening ceremony on Sunday, Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, SC, MP, Prime Minister of Barbados underscored that the Caribbean Educational Transformation Commission must be established as a matter of urgency, as the current educational system is not “fit for purpose” for today’s citizens.

She posited that data and evidence should inform necessary changes to give young people the best possible chance.

Helpful Links:

Keynote Address | Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, ON, PC, MP | Prime Minister of Jamaica | Chairman of CARICOM | 49th Regular Meeting of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government| 6 July 2025

Video | Closing Media Conference of the 49th Meeting of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government | Montego Bay, Jamaica

“It is also important to explore how the Region’s policymakers and development specialists can partner to exploit the untapped opportunities for securing positive educational outcomes, strengthening community development and facilitating greater youth engagement through chess.”

CARICOM Deputy Secretary-General, Dr Armstrong Alexis, believes that participation in sport can unlock young people’s potential to secure the Region’s future.

He shared this view at the opening of the CARICOM Chess Classic 2025, held at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown, Guyana, on Monday, 30 June 2025. The event was organised by the Guyana Chess Federation.

“Not only has chess been associated with increased intelligence and academic performance, but its characteristics as a cognitively demanding game have also made it of high interest in educational spheres, youth engagement, and in promoting mental well-being,” stated Dr Alexis.

He added, “So, this event goes beyond bragging rights and chess mastery. I do not think I exaggerate when I say that this Tournament is also about securing the Region’s future through youth development.”

Please read his complete remarks below.

Salutations

I am honoured and excited to be in your midst this evening. Thank you for the invitation and for the opportunity to address you briefly.

I wish to commend the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF ) for its commitment, not just to nation building but to an even more ambitious goal of deeper regional integration, by taking the lead in organising and hosting yet another chess tournament for the CARICOM Region. Last year, the Secretariat collaborated with the GCF in hosting the Inaugural Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Classic Chess Tournament under the umbrella of the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of CARICOM and this year, we are pleased to once again welcome the nine teams from eight territories in the CARICOM Region that have journeyed to Guyana to do battle for chess supremacy.

The Secretariat is thrilled to collaborate with the Federation to execute this event. We are keen on exploring how this partnership can be strengthened and integrated into the wider programmatic and strategic activities associated with the Community’s Sport Development Programme.

I wish to also commend the Pegasus Hotel Guyana and all sponsors for placing their support behind this initiative. The successful execution of this event truly is a demonstration of the role that partnerships can play in accelerating sport development in the Region.

The Caribbean Community places strong emphasis on sport as a vector of change in the Region. The Secretariat’s Sport Development Programme is strategically moving to mobilise partners across the Region in an effort to strengthen the governance of the sector and widen the spectrum of sports available to youth. We all know that participation in sport serves as a vehicle to mitigate against crime and other antisocial behaviour, especially amongst youth. I therefore urge not only the participants, but the organizers of this tournament to continue the effort to ensure that the young citizens of our beloved Caribbean continue to use sport and in this particular instance, Chess, as a means of remaining gainfully engaged, gain useful life skills and values, strengthen bonds, and impact positively on our nations.

Ladies and gentlemen, the initiative that we are gathered here to get underway is a consequential one. Given the rising concerns with youth disengagement in the Region and the persistent productivity gaps when compared with the rest of the world, mind sports, such as chess, offer solutions – if we are able to leverage them effectively.

So, this event goes beyond bragging rights and chess mastery. I do not think I exaggerate when I say that this Tournament is also about securing the region’s future through youth development.

It is now well known that there are various cognitive and non-cognitive benefits of chess. Chess promotes mental focus, strategic thinking, cognitive agility, impulse control, and a greater capacity to make decisions in the face of ambiguity.

The skills learned through chess are transferable to domains such as socio-affective development, memory and creativity, visuo-spatial abilities, problem-solving abilities, and even reductions in risk-aversion.

Not only has chess been associated with increased intelligence and academic performance, but its characteristics as a cognitively demanding game have also made it of high interest in educational spheres, youth engagement and in promoting mental well-being.

The CARICOM Secretariat is, therefore, happy to be partnering with Chess Federations and members of the Region’s sporting fraternity gathered here today, to explore how chess can be routinised as a sport to which all children have access from early and throughout the various stages of their development.

It is also important to explore how the Region’s policymakers and development specialists can partner to exploit the untapped opportunities for securing positive educational outcomes, strengthening community development and facilitating greater youth engagement through chess.

The Secretariat expresses well wishes to all the players and teams who are here to participate in this Tournament, and I look forward to seeing the knock-on effects that this year’s tournament will likely catalyse.

Thank you!

Please read the Secretary-General’s message below:

This is the tenth year that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat and the Region are joining in the observance of Girls in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Day. For 2025, the CARICOM Girls in ICT Partnership celebrates International Girls in ICT Day, under the theme “Girls in ICT: Building CARICOM”.   

This theme underscores the importance of inclusion, participation, and leadership of our women and girls to shaping a resilient, innovative and competitive future. We celebrate the progress made in education, digital transformation and digital literacy, as a growing number of women and girls have forged new pathways as innovators of digital technology in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and the Arts (STEM/STEAM) in our Community.

We need to take advantage of widening opportunities to encourage more girls to engage in STEM and related career fields, and to ensure all our population is equally able to access jobs in automation, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

CARICOM has prioritised digital skills development as part of the Regional Digital Resilience Strategic Framework. To ensure that digital transformation is inclusive, equitable and a catalyst for sustainable economic growth, requires continued collaboration between Governments, the private sector and civil society, to allow for pathways that ensure that future generations of girls participate in ICT, and have opportunities to assume leadership positions and contribute to a resilient, innovative and competitive future.

Let us reinforce our commitment to a future where technology is a catalyst for equality, opportunity, and empowerment for all.

Happy International Girls in ICT Day 2025!

“We were able to also take a report from the concerned parents with respect to CXC, and we’ve asked for them to meet with CXC to remove any misunderstanding and to improve the response to their concerns. In addition to that, the Community took a decision that the time has come for the establishment of a CARICOM Educational Transformation Commission.”

CARICOM leaders have decided to establish an Educational Transformation Commission. CARICOM Chair and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley made the announcement at the culmination of the 48th Regular Meeting of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government in Barbados during the closing media conference.

In 2024, a representative for the Group of Concerned Parents of Barbados and the Caribbean Coalition for Exam Redress advocated for the need to analyse Barbadian pupils’ performance in light of a CXC report, which revealed a concerning fall in regional Mathematics proficiency.

Speaking to the media, the Chair highlighted the leaders’ decisive action.  “We were able to take a report from the concerned parents with respect to CXC, and we’ve asked for them to meet with CXC to remove any misunderstanding…to improve the response to their concerns. In addition to that, the Community took a decision that the time had come now for the establishment of a CARICOM Educational Transformation Commission,” explained the Chair.

“We all accept that our educational systems are not fit for purpose.”

The Chair emphasised that leaders agreed the current systems were not aligned with the Region’s education goals. “They were designed for a colonial period with a hierarchical structure that only saw a few of our people. If we are to be able to ensure that we produce citizens fit for the time with the appropriate social and emotional learning targets, it is now,” asserted the Barbados Prime Minister.

The terms of reference and the composition of the Commission will be completed soon.

View the Chair’s comments below:

The Maroon Institute would lead a collaborative research, advocacy and policy agenda with the Maroon communities and be positioned as a regional and global centre for Indigenous and Maroon knowledge, culture and history.

“The UWI has a moral duty to facilitate not just resilience but the opportunity for the Jamaica Maroons to thrive, and that is exactly what we will do”, Professor Beckles said. “An Institute for Maroon Studies should be established… The most precious thing that ever came out of the Caribbean is the Maroons… Everywhere there was slavery, there was marronage. This University is an expression of marronage today.”

He further declared, “Everything we need to know about the future can be found in the study of our past.…. There can be no discussion about the future of this Region without the Maroons. Maroon philosophy, politics and ideology must be at the centre. We are all Maroons.”

“I have been looking forward to seeing Maroon Studies at The UWI, it is full time. It is in accordance with The UWI mission statement which includes uplifting culture, and the University should have Maroon people coming in to speak,” asserted Gaamaa Gloria Simms, Maroon Women’s Network Chair. 

The Symposium was part of an initiative by the CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) to increase advocacy for reparatory justice and the rights of the Maroons and other indigenous groups. This was highlighted by Dr Hilary Brown, Programme Manager, Culture and Community Development, CARICOM Secretariat (who officially opened the proceedings). “The Maroons are among the indigenous people of the Region who are due reparatory justice and have a right to development. Their issues, concerns and rights must be respected and amplified within the regional movement for reparatory justice,” stated Dr Brown. 

Maroon Chiefs and other representatives from the communities of Accompong, Mooretown, Flagstaff, Scotts Hall and Charles Town, as well as other experts, attended the Symposium, themed “The Maroons of Jamaica:  Our Legacies, Telling Our Own Truths.”

Editor’s Notes:

Highlights:

The CARICOM Reparations Commission organised the event in collaboration with The UWI Centre for Reparation Research, the Maroon communities of Jamaica, AIDO Network International, the Global African Diaspora Kingdom and Omanye Royal Kingdom. It amplified the authentic voices of the Maroon Colonels and Chiefs, telling their historical stories and truths, dispelling myths and misconceptions and strengthening their unity and reconciliation efforts, which was on full display at the Symposium.

Symposium highlights included the Opening panel: “Maroon Treaties, Resistance, History & Culture: Dispelling Myths, Telling Our Truths,” which was moderated by Dr Hilary Brown. Panelists were: Chief Richard Currie (Paramount Chief aka Papa Odwe II, and Ambassador Anu El, Accompong); Mr. Bert Samuels (Attorney-at-Law, National Council on Reparations); Col. Wallace Sterling (Moore Town) and Colonel Lloyd Lattibeaudiere (Scott’s Hall).

The second panel entitled: “Maroon Legacies and Impact on Contemporary Jamaican and Caribbean Culture” was moderated by Dr Sonjah Stanley Niaah, Director, Centre for Reparation Research, The UWI. Panelists included Gaamaa Gloria Simms, Ms. Beverly Carey (Researcher | Author), Alex Moore-Minott (Myal priest) and Mr Sydney Bartley (Culture Expert | Consultant).

The closing roundtable was moderated by Dr Chenzira Davis Kahina, enstooled Queen Mother Hajila Adeke (AIDO | GADK | CPAN | CRC | UNIA ACL RC 2020) and entitled: “Jamaica and the Maroons: Inclusion, Collaboration and the Right to Development.” Participants included:  Chief Richard Currie (Accompong); Colonel Wallace Sterling (Moore Town); Colonel Lloyd Lattibeaudiere (Scott’s Hall); Chief Kanute Cameron (Flagstaff), and Dr. Marcus Goffe (UWI / Legal Counsel of YCOIL/Charlestown). The panel focused on constitutional reform and advocated for inclusivity of the Maroons of Jamaica in all future proceedings and developments.

Mrs. Sharon Parris-Chambers, Publisher of Caribnewsroom Online News Journal, was chair of the proceedings.

Commitments

The Symposium ended on a high note with a commitment to commence work on establishing the Institute for Maroon and Indigenous Studies, which will be informed by the priorities identified by the Maroons in the Symposium.  The Institute will have branches in the Maroon communities for collaboration and inclusivity. There was also a commitment to advancing the discussion on constitutional reform and the inclusivity of Indigenous people in the process.

Helpful links:

CARICOM Welcomes Declaration of the Second Decade for People of African Descent

CARICOM Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice

CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC)

“On this International Day of Education, it is useful to remind ourselves that, despite the intensification of AI, it remains true that the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers.  The Caribbean Community welcomes the potential of AI to transform many aspects of education and looks forward to a future in which AI complements the essential human elements of the teaching and learning process.”

Davion Leslie, Programme Manager, Human Resource Development (with responsibility for Education), CARICOM Secretariat.

On 24 January, the CARICOM Secretariat will join the world in a significant celebration: the International Day of Education. This year’s theme underscores the crucial role of our educators in using new technologies to improve how we learn and evolve as a Community while maintaining a human-centred learning environment.

“On this International Day of Education, it is useful to remind ourselves that, despite the intensification of AI, it remains true that the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers,” stated Davion Leslie, Programme Manager, Human Resource Development (with responsibility for Education) at the CARICOM Secretariat. 

His sentiments were echoed by Jennifer Britton, Deputy Programme Manager, Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) at the CARICOM Secretariat, who advocated for safeguarding the independence of educators and students in the rise of AI.

She underscored, “As we reflect on the theme for this year’s observance…and as educational environments become more automated and computerised, safeguarding students, educators, and society’s independence becomes paramount.”

Click below to hear more of their perspectives.

Click here for more on how AI can be used for education.

“Now is surely an opportune time to transform our education system into one that has greater levels of resilience and delivers lessons that create a climate-aware citizenry. I am optimistic that decisions we will make in this Meeting will serve to secure these and other important outcomes.”

Monday, 28 October 2024 (CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown): Chair of the 48th Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) – Education and Grenada’s Minister of Education, Senator the Honourable David Andrew, has highlighted adapting to changing technology, the need for education transformation and the threat of climate change as some of the critical areas of focus for the education sector.

Minister Andrew made these comments during the 48th COHSOD Education, hosted by the CARICOM Secretariat in Trinidad and Tobago from 24 to 25 October. The Meeting provided a platform for stakeholders in the education sector to discuss the challenges, learning gaps and threats to the quality of education, such as the impact of climate change on education systems.

The Impact of Climate Change

“The urgent challenge we have in this Meeting is developing an answer to the question- how do we ensure that our education system is responding to the immediate realities that we face?” I ask this question as an Education Minister who is now rebuilding and/or repairing 15 schools that experienced varying levels of damage due to the passage of Hurricane Beryl on 1 July,” stated Minister Andrew.  He also expressed solidarity with other Member States recovering from Beryl’s destruction.

The Meeting Chair advocated for regional collaboration to transform the education system into one that is resilient to the impact of climate change and offers better opportunities and outcomes for the People of the Caribbean Community.

“Now is surely an opportune time to transform our education system into one that has greater levels of resilience and delivers lessons that create a climate-aware citizenry. I am optimistic that decisions we will make in this Meeting will serve to secure these and other important outcomes,” added the Chair.

Paradigm Shift towards Education Transformation

In her remarks, CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) for Foreign and Community Relations, Elizabeth Solomon, said that the Region agrees on a paradigm shift to align its education sector with the global agenda for education transformation. 

She stated, “The [CARICOM] Secretariat has an ambitious mandate to implement the 2030 Strategy, but we look to your support as we review to make the necessary adjustments to meet our target of 2030 and beyond. Based on assessments thus far, we all agree on the need for a paradigm shift and for the Caribbean Community to embrace and keep in step with the global agenda for transformation of our education system.”

She added that one of the key drivers would be repositioning the education system to respond to 2030 challenges. As a result, education stakeholders are asked to re-examine the Region’s education standards and the issues that affect student learning.

CARICOM Secretariat Interventions for Education Transformation

ASG Solomon also highlighted the CARICOM Secretariat’s successful interventions for the education sector.  “Over the past year, we lay claim to some major accomplishments as a result of the support provided by Member States, partners and international donors. We continue to build strong partnerships, which have yielded positive results. In collaboration with The University of the West Indies, Organisation of Easter Caribbean States (OECS) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the CARICOM Secretariat launched Cohort 2 of the Learning Recovery and Enhancement Programme, known as “Let’s REAP”, for Caribbean schools. Two thousand two hundred and forty-nine (2249) educators from 16 Member States and Associate Members are enrolled in this cohort, which commenced on 25 March 2024 and was completed in July 2024.  Fifteen Thousand (15,000) educators – teachers, principals, and Ministry of Education officials are targeted for further training,” stated the CARICOM ASG.   

She also highlighted the Digitalisation of TVET Delivery Project as another successful initiative.  She noted that the Project is establishing a regional digital platform that supports the digitalisation of TVET delivery across CARICOM Member States.

Digital Education

During her opening remarks, Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Education, Dr the Honourable Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, advocated for a tailored approach to the Region’s digital education gap.  “It is not enough for us to deliver the basic tenets of literacy and numeracy. In this dynamic world, we must equip our citizens with the skills and values needed to move through this revolving digital economy. We in the Caribbean face unique challenges that require tailored solutions. So, whether we are grappling with the widening educational gaps post-pandemic, the migration of skilled talent, or the pressure to revitalise our [Technical and Vocational Education and Training] TVET systems to meet the demands of the 21st-century workforce, our responses must be deliberate and unified. COHSOD provides us with the ideal forum to exchange ideas, craft policies, and strengthen the networks that bind us as Caribbean brothers and sisters,” stated the Minister.

CARICOM Ministers of Education, chief education officers, chief technical experts and other regional stakeholders participated in the two-day session. Regional and international partners, the Caribbean Association of National Training Authorities (CANTA), the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Commonwealth Secretariat, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and The University of the West Indies (UWI) also contributed.

Additional Information:

The Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) promotes human and social development. Specifically, Article 17 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas states the Council, which consists of Ministers designated by the Member States, will promote the development of education through the efficient organisation of educational and training facilities in the Community, including elementary and advanced vocational training and technical facilities.

As he referenced climate change’s impact on education, the Chair stated that Grenada is rebuilding and/or repairing 15 schools that experienced varying levels of damage due to Hurricane Beryl’s passage on 1 July and expressed solidarity with other Member States recovering from Beryl’s destruction.

He advocated for regional collaboration to transform the education system into one that is resilient to the impact of climate change and offers better opportunities and outcomes for the People of the Caribbean Community.  

Please read his speech below.

48^TH MEETING OF the

Council for Human and Social Development – Education

Sen. The Hon David Andrew

Minister of Education, Grenada,

Chair’s Remarks

Salutations,

• My Colleague Education Ministers from across the Caribbean, with a special acknowledgement to our host minister, The Honourable Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, Minister of Education, Trinidad and Tobago
• Ms Elizabeth Solomon, Assistant Secretary General, Foreign Policy and Community Relations and the Officer-in-Charge of the Directorate of Human and Social Development;
• Mrs Helen Royer, Director, Human Development, CARICOM Secretariat;
• Permanent Secretaries, Chief Education Officers and other Delegates from Member States;
• Mr Davion Leslie, Programme Manager, Human Resource Development, CARICOM Secretariat;
• Dr Densie Stoney-James, Deputy Programme Manager, Education, CARICOM Secretariat;  
• Other Delegates, Partners and special invitees,

Good morning!

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the 48^th Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development – Education. I bring you greetings from the Prime Minister of Grenada and the current Chair of the Caribbean Community, the Honorable Dickon Mitchell.

I want to place on record my appreciation for the work my colleague, Minister Octavia Alfred, and her team from Dominica did as the Chair of COHSOD for the period that has just now come to an end. Minister Alfred, I look forward to your continued support.

I am thrilled to accept the invitation to serve as the Chair of the Council for Human and Social Development (Education) for the next 11 months. I have spent much of my adult life involved in education – including 10 years as a classroom teacher. As a father of 3 children, a trained teacher, and a patriotic citizen of the Caribbean Community, I am highly invested in the advancement of education in the Region. I am excited, therefore, to have the opportunity, provided through this chairmanship, to help shape the development of the Region’s education sector.

I express thanks to my Permanent Secretary, Elvis Morain, who from all reports ably executed the chairmanship of the Officials Meeting last week and I also extend my commendation to all the Officials who had robust discussion on the agenda items and I look forward to addressing their recommendations.

Thanks also to the CARICOM Secretariat Team for the support already provided to PS Morain in the capacity of Chairman.

Colleague Ministers, when I look at the agenda for today’s meeting, I am seized with a deep sense of urgency. I wish to use my remarks this morning to recommend the same urgency to you.

The agenda invites us to discuss consequential issues such as the management of education data in the Region, the acceleration of the digital transformation in the education system, and the revision of the CARICOM HRD 2030 Strategy. These are all critical lines of action that, if done right, can fundamentally reshape the structure of the Region’s education system. This Meeting gives us an opportunity to initiate and advance action-focused exchanges to create a more resilient, relevant and responsive education system.

The urgency of reshaping our education system is further intensified by the opportunities presented by the ubiquity of technology, the acceleration of education transformation and the increased awareness of the existential threat of climate change.

The urgent challenge we have in this Meeting is developing an answer to the question, “how do we ensure that our education system is responding to the immediate realities that we face?” I ask this question as an Education Minister who is now rebuilding and/or repairing 15 schools that experienced varying levels of damage due to the passage of Hurricane Beryl on 1 July. And I know, each Ministry of Education across the Region is grappling with similar challenges.   

Given this, now is surely an opportune time to transform our education system into one that has greater levels of resilience and into one that delivers lessons that create a climate-aware citizenry. I am optimistic that decisions we will make in this Meeting will serve to secure these and other important outcomes.

So, colleagues, this is our opportunity to meet the moment with the urgency that it deserves. This is our opportunity to create legacy in the way that it matters most – by securing a safe and prosperous future for our children. Ministers, we have an ambitious agenda ahead of us and I ask you for your support through robust discussion on the items for this Meeting, but more than that, I ask you for your commitment as we work to advance the Region’s education system

The ASG made this declaration during her remarks at the 48th Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) Education, taking place in Trinidad and Tobago, 24-25 October 2024.

The meeting is being chaired by Sen. the Hon. David Andrew, Minister of Education – Grenada. The Region’s progress in implementing the CARICOM Human Resource Development (HRD) 2030 Strategy, education transformation, Mathematics education and assessment in the Region, a whole-of-education approach to violence against women and girls, and education system strengthening are the main topics on the agenda.

ASG Solomon also underscored that the Region remains committed to creating inclusive and equitable education systems. Referring to the CARICOM Human Resource Strategy 2030, she emphasised that regional collaboration was crucial to achieving the Community’s ambitious education goals for 2030.

Please read her speech below.

48^TH COHSOD-EDUCATION

OPENING REMARKS

OFFICER IN CHARGE, DIRECTORATE OF HUMAN AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL, ELIZABETH SOLOMON

24 OCTOBER 2024

PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Salutations

Good Morning.

Allow me to begin by extending warm greetings on behalf of Dr Carla Barnett, Secretary General of the CARICOM Secretariat.

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the Forty-eighth Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development – Education. We share a collective purpose of closing the gaps in the education system and of using a transformative approach to ensure that the education system that underpins the future of this Region, can respond to the emerging 21^st century needs.

As we convene today, let us revisit the “state of play” on our progress in achieving the mandates set for ourselves at the last COHSOD, which was held under the theme “From Aspiration to Action”. As many of you will recall, that mandate included action on key issues that were impacting the implementation of the Human Resource 2030 strategy.  While the mandate may not have been fully achieved, we continue to be proactive towards fulfillment of these imperatives, even as we continue to navigate the difficult terrain left in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the past year, we lay claim to some major accomplishments as a result of the support provided by Member States, partners and internal donors. We continue to build strong partnerships which have yielded positive results. In collaboration with The University of the West Indies, Organisation of Easter Caribbean States (OECS) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the CARICOM Secretariat launched Cohort 2 of the Learning Recovery and Enhancement Programme, known as ‘Let’s REAP’, for Caribbean schools. Two thousand two hundred and forty-nine (2249) educators from 16 Member States and Associate Members are enrolled in Cohort 2, which commenced March 25, 2024, and was completed in July 2024.  15,000 educators (teachers, principals, and Ministry of Education officials, are targeted for further training.

The CARICOM Secretariat, in collaboration with the Caribbean Association of National Training Authorities (CANTA), designed and submitted the Digitalisation of TVET Delivery project in response to the Call for Proposals Trilateral Technical Cooperation between the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (“Agência Brasileira de Cooperação” – ABC), the European Union (EU) and Germany. The HRD Programme secured €700,000 in technical support from the Trilateral Technical Cooperation. The Digitalisation of Technical and Vocational Education and Training, better known as ‘TVET’, Delivery Project is a crucial element of the CARICOM Human Resource Development (HRD) 2030 Strategy, which was approved by CARICOM Member States. To date, we are establishing a regional digital platform that supports the digitalisation of TVET delivery across CARICOM Member States.  In August, the project team visited the four pilot countries -Barbados, Jamaica, Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago- to collect data to inform decisions in the project.

Esteemed Colleagues, the agenda for this Forty-Eight COHSOD-Education is a comprehensive one, covering a wide range of issues. It will require deep thought and systematic analysis and constructive dialogue, and I am optimistic that we will cover considerable ground under the steerage of our Chair, the Honourable Minister of Education of Grenada. 

Honourable Ministers and delegates, I look forward to your strategic direction and robust discussion as we move forward, in particular in getting  approval of the items placed before this body which will accelerate  the implementation of the HRD  strategy.

We have noted that these items generate much discussion and enthusiasm from the officials, and I am assured that this will be no different for this meeting. There is consensus that if education is to remain relevant, we must tackle the issues that impede our progress with robust focus.

The Secretariat has an ambitious mandate to implement the 2030 Strategy, but we look to your support as we review to make the necessary adjustments to meet our target of 2030 and beyond. Based on assessments thus far it is clear that we all agree on the need for a paradigm shift and for the Caribbean Community to embrace and keep in step with the global agenda for transformation of our education system.

One of the key drivers will be repositioning the education system to respond to 2030 challenges and as a result, the meeting is being asked to relook our education standard and the issues that impact student learning.

This meeting presents a profound opportunity to collectively shape the future of education in our Region and beyond. Our discussions and decisions over the two days will impact the lives of countless individuals. I am confident that our shared commitment to regional development will contribute to the four policy imperatives of the CARICOM Human Resource Development (HRD) 2030 Strategy: Access, Equity, Relevance, Quality, and pave the way for meaningful change.

While we deliberate on issues in basic education, lifelong learning skills, and the tertiary sector, we remain steadfastly dedicated to realising inclusive and equitable education systems in the Region. Together, let us harness the power of dialogue and action to drive tangible transformation and create opportunities for all.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges that remain with us, but also many opportunities for our education systems. It has placed in sharp focus the need to address the inefficiencies and to build more resilient school systems.

The Secretariat renews its commitment to providing the technical support to help advance this pivotal human development agenda.

In closing, I am confident our deliberations over the next two days will bear fruit and will ensure that our policy mandates are implemented.

Thank you.