16 more schools to prepare students for work
THE Ministry of Education Ministry has announced that the Secondary School Certificate Programme (SCCP) will be introduced in 16 more schools countrywide by September.
The announcement said the intervention is a move by Government to ensure school dropouts and secondary school students are adequately prepared for the world of work when the time arrives. The 2009 initiative is vocational in nature and presents students an alternative pathway in secondary education, utilising the competency based modularisation to education and the criterion reference approach (CRA) in delivery, the ministry said.
It explained that students’ performance in the SCCP is measured against specific occupational standards directly related to industry and they are required to develop competency in number of skills relevant to their studies.
The programme is executed during a one year period in grade nine and trains students to the status of level one worker, with the aim of developing technical competencies and enhancing functional literacy and numeracy at grade nine.
“It is also designed to equip students with citizenship, life and vocational skills training to support national development, expose them to a modularised and vocational career education with emphasis on supervised work experience, work attachments and/or work related projects; develop good occupational, environmental health and safety practices in schools and instill in students problem solving and creative thinking skills through project work,” the release said.
Through the process, students are offered four core subjects, namely Language and Communication, Mathematics, Integrated Science and General Studies and the choice of one option in Agriculture Science, Industrial Technology, Home Economics and Visual Arts.
These students can move to a more advanced level, in grade ten and, eventually, write the Technical and Vocational, Education and Training (TVET) subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and move on to higher studies.
Persons who are unable to meet the requirements for certification are granted a transcript, indicating the areas in which they have demonstrated competencies, the ministry said.
The ministry said, in its five-year strategic plan, it intends to introduce the SCCP in 70 secondary schools by 2013.
Meanwhile, the programme taught in grade nine is currently offered in 35 secondary schools and 10 practical instructional centres and the changes brought about by the SCCP have impacted greatly on headteachers, school administrators, teachers and instructors at the practical instructional centres.
They are required to closely monitor the delivery of the programme, students’ progress and their acquisition of the necessary competencies.