News from Dominica as of
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Letter: The Dominica State College
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| Published on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 | Email To Friend Print Version
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Dear Sir:
In your issue of Caribbean Net News of October 24, 2009, you carried important information concerning the growth and development of the Dominica State College. It is indeed amazing to see how Dominica is making such great strides in tertiary education and in making it available to more of its citizens. I was particularly impressed with the vision statement, which is to move the college to university status.
The education authorities in Dominica appear to be very clear and focused with respect to what they would like to achieve, and are laying the ground work essential for the establishment of their very own university. A university is an important institution in the development of a country's resources.
The education authorities must therefore see to it that the retraining and further training of staff for the university are undertaken. This training should specifically relate further to the requirements of the current economy, as well as the various stages of growth the economy would experience over the years.
The kind and quality of skills needed should be carefully thought through, the clients clearly identified, what their strengths are, and the specific areas suited for their capabilities should be offered, so that they not only just fit into the economy, but that they are able to be creative, innovative, as well as exercise critical thinking on the new demands of a developing nation.
Graduates should be able to create a new kind of economy and society which is qualitatively different from the existing one, as well as introduce new business opportunities in new areas, which were either previously overlooked, or not thought about previously.
The new Dominican university should also be a centre for the development of new technologies suited for Dominica's environment as well as that of the Caribbean generally. These new technologies should explore research possibilities that existing resources could reveal, so that investment in these untapped resources would not only contribute to a more sustainable economy, but also to a more technologically literate society. The first degree in nursing is an important start in the delivery of a university programme in Dominica.`
In the meantime, other areas in the arts and sciences should be worked on in terms of creating a curriculum for degree programmes in these subject areas. Academic and intellectual training are important in producing critical thinkers able to reflect, and arrive at new dimensions of an area, as well as enable students to realize various consequences of taking a particular course of action.
Programmes that promote reflection, logical analysis, and wholistic thinking should also be introduced, to avoid the university becoming static in its function, or close-minded in its outlook. A university is a place where new knowledge is always being created, and existing knowledge being reviewed and given new perspectives which contribute to the advancement of the society.
It is alo good to see that partnerships are being developed between the Dominica State College and regional and international institutions. This is healthy in that experiences and new research findings could be shared, staff exchanges could be introduced, guest lecturers from different institutions who have made discoveries in their areas invited to share these, and also there could be resource sharing in many areas of mutual concern to the parties involved.
This idea of partnership means that the Dominica State College, and the new university would be at the cutting edge of knowledge and research, and that their programmes would be highly accredited, and universally recognized. Dominica could therefore emerge as an important giant in Caribbean education and development, sharing its skills, knowledge and experiences with other regional institutions and economies, and contributing to their cultural, intellectual, scientific and technological advancement. This could mean highly sustainable economies in the Caribbean over time, which will protect the Caribbean from the ups and downs of economic cycles experienced by other countries.
It is also interesting to see increased student enrollments, and enhanced acces to tertiary education in the country since the establishment of the Dominica State College. This will further increase with the establishment of the university. What is good also is that the future plans for the State College and the university seem to have been carefully laid. The ideas about tertiary education and its function in Dominica are also logically thought through.
It can therefore be said with great confidence, that the education authorities in Dominica have indeed cleared the way for a new dispensation in education for the country which will have positive benefits for Dominica and the Caribbean, and that their wider vision for education will definitely be realized.
Oliver Mills | | | | Reads : 547 | | | |
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