Caribbean principals get new vision for education after confab

Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer

OCHO RIOS, St Ann:

THE CARIBBEAN Association of Principals of Secondary Schools (CAPSS) completed a successful week-long conference last Friday at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort and Spa in Ocho Rios, emerging with a renewed sense of purpose at making a greater impact on shaping the direction of education.

"The conference has been excellent. It has met all our expectations," said Esther Tyson, vice-president of Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools (JAPSS), which hosted the conference.

"We now look forward to moving ahead as a Caribbean region with a better understanding of who we are as a Caribbean people, the state of our secondary education, and where we need to move forward to."

best for students

Tyson added: "CAPSS expects that our principals are going to move forward with a sense of vision, a goal, an understanding of where we need to go, and therefore put in place as many of the things we can with the limited resources that we have. We know that principals are very creative in terms of ensuring that our students get the best possible from what little we have."

Tyson said JAPSS benefited from hosting the conference, and had "a very clear vision of where we are to go and intend to make sure that as principals we have an impact on policy making in Jamaica".

More than 120 principals from nine countries attended the biennial meeting. Highlights of the conference, according to some participants, included an address by Professor Errol Miller, who, in tracing the history of secondary education, urged the region to offer education that meets the needs of the 21st century; and presentation by Dr Didacus Jules, registrar of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) who gave a sense of what is happening with the CXC examinations.

Participants also benefited from presentations by persons drawn from the University of the West Indies, Mico University College, the Ministry of Education and other areas, as well as from best practices shared by their Caribbean counterparts.

The conference was held under the theme, 'Secondary Education in the Caribbean: A 21st Century Perspective'.

CAPSS has compiled a directory of contact information for principals at the conference to facilitate communication at a closer level going forward.

The next biennial conference is set for 2013 in Belize. However, there will be a meeting of heads of the region in July 2012 in Belize.