Recommendations being implemented to overhaul education sector

 

The Education Transformation Oversight Committee (ETOC) is reporting a high degree of implementation of the recommendations for the overhaul of the education sector.

 

The committee says work has started on 101 recommendations for the overhaul of the education sector.

 

This is nine more than was reported last year.

 

The Committee is seeking to implement the 365 recommendations contained in the Patterson Report.

 

ETOC head Dr. Adrian Stokes says 97 of the recommendations are on track with four others lagging.

 

The areas running behind schedule are: making the reports on school financials and the school assessment by the National Education Inspectorate (NEI) public, implementation of the Education Management Information System, improvement to staffing and training in early childhood institutions and consultations on funding models for early childhood and primary education.

 

Dr. Stokes said making reports public should be resolved quickly.

 

"From ETOC's perspective, we believe that the initiative that relates to the NEI and other reports being made public, we think it's a low-hanging fruit," he said, committing that by the next reporting period this initiative would be finalised. 

 

He added that the Education Management Information System should be live come next month. 

 

"From what we have been able to deduce from the ministry is that they are having some issues with the developer of the system. The commitment that we have received is that the system will go live in April. In terms of the improved training and staffing in early childhood institutions, the release of funds to the Early Childhood Commission in the upcoming financial year should get this initiative back on track."

 

Where consultation on the funding model is concerned, the ministry has indicated that it is trying to establish four working groups to address this issue by the next reporting period.