The Ministry of Education, Employment & Gender Affairs recently hosted the Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Hon. Akierra Missick, and her delegation for 2 days of meetings and school visits.

On October 23rd and 24th, Minister Missick, her Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Cheryl Ann Jones and the Director of Education, Mr. Edgar Howell participated in several meetings with the Ministry of Education’s team that were focused on strategic planning, capturing and using data, early childhood care and education, technology integration, developing safer schools and the development of new school structures.

The Turks and Caicos team also took time to visit the Clifton Hunter High School and George Town Primary School, where they were greeted and led on tours by the senior management of the schools, assisted at Clifton Hunter High School by the Head Boy and Head Girl.

Minister Missick noted that her team was thankful to Minister of Education, Employment & Gender Affairs Hon. Tara Rivers; Councillor Winston Connolly; Chief Officer Mary Rodrigues; Chief Education Officer Shirley Wahler and the rest of the Ministry team, for welcoming them to the Cayman Islands. She stated, “As the Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture, I found the discussions on the approach used in the Cayman Islands of public consultation and involvement, and the highly developed integration of technology within the curriculum refreshing.

The Cayman Islands approach is one that we in the Turks & Caicos Islands will strive towards, as we prepare our children to be major players in the international world with sufficient resources for them to achieve their future goals.”

During the overview meeting on the Ministry’s structure, projects and operations, Mrs. Rodrigues noted that the Cayman Islands Ministry of Education was happy to host the Turks and Caicos delegation, and indicated that the Ministry was also looking forward to hearing about the work being done in the Turks and Caicos and learning from their experiences as well.

Minister Rivers explained that the process of preparing and presenting to her counterpart from the Turks and Caicos Islands helped her team to reflect on the good work they are doing, and recognise the opportunities for improvements where possible.  She stated, “The Ministry of Education and the Department of Education Services are constantly working to improve the education system.  As we move into a phase where greater emphasis is placed on collaborating with schools, including principals, teachers, parents and students, in the planning and implementation of policies and procedures, it is always useful to take stock of where you are and where you need to go.”

Minister Missick and Minister Rivers agreed that it was critical for overseas territories to engage with each other on strategic and policy levels, since they often face many of the same challenges despite their uniqueness.

Photo:

From left to right: Director of Education of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Edgar Howell; Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Hon. Akierra Missick; Minister of Education, Employment & Gender Affairs, Hon. Tara Rivers; Chief Officer in the Ministry of Education, Employment & Gender Affairs, Mary Rodrigues; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Cheryl Ann Jones; Chief Education Officer, Shirley Wahler; Manager Initial Teacher Training, Cetonya Cacho and ICT Integration Specialist, Mark Ray.