Teachers apprised of plans for technological integration in teaching

Minister of Education, Curtis King, has been sharing with teachers government vision for greater technological integration in teaching. However, addressing teachers on Thursday, April 11, 2024 at the 23rd Biennial Convention of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers Union (SVGTU), King, a former educator, said “the weakness of science in education” must first be addressed.

He said that the government, in an effort to address this issue, is working on ways in which all students in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), will have equal access to a science lab without having to travel to Kingstown.

“So I don’t always have to come to Kingstown because Kingstown is the only place you have laboratories.”

Minister King made mention of the recently built laboratory at the Dr J.P Eustace Memorial Secondary School, which was a first for the school. He noted that the school went on to secure a win at the recently held National Science Fair.

“They beat all the traditional schools.”

The minister also highlighted the problem where although the SVG Community College and the University of the West Indies Global Campus offer degrees in sciences, they are largely social sciences.

“The very important science education,or let us call it STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), we are not in a position to offer such and we intend to correct that, because you can’t be talking about using science, technology and innovation to address, in a practical way, our challenges if we don’t have people who are capable of such.”

The minister also shared that the government has already commenced work on a facility owned by the State that would allow access to all students who attend the Global Campus, or SVG Community College.

“And you’re really going to be having a full suite in terms of laboratory at that location,” which King said would be located at Frenches in the vicinity of the UWI Global Campus.

Among other things, the minster spoke as well of the need for more students to make use of the many Technical and Vocational Training (TVET) programmes on offer by the State. He said that TVET is usually seen as a last resort for persons who struggle with instructional education.

At the convention, the union installed its new executive for the 2024-26 term.

The convention was held under the theme ‘Meeting the Challenges for the Future with Solutions that Strengthen Education and Trade Unionism’.