Basseterre: St. Kitts, Friday, November 11, 2022: St. Kitts and Nevis’ Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Ambassador David Doyle, Secretary General for St. Kitts and Nevis National Commission, Ms Dorothy Warner and Project Officer, Mrs. Shirmel Dore-Henry met virtually on Tuesday 8th November with Minister of Education, Hon. Dr. Geoffrey Hanley and Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Lisa Pistana to update them on the operations of the National Commission.
The purpose of the meeting was to inform the recently elected Minister of the role of UNESCO particularly in the advancement of education and in the development of the Federation in general.
Ambassador David Doyle informed the Minister of the various project proposals that had been submitted to UNESCO and gave updates on their progress.
Speaking of the Accreditation of Higher Diplomas in the Federation, the Ambassador explained:
“The first phase looked at strengthening the accreditation process that already exists so as to make it align with international standards. UNESCO has approved the second phase of the project to the tune of US $25,000.00 to hire a leading-edge consultancy firm to work alongside you [Minister] and your colleagues to develop guidelines and an integrated mandatory registration system; reforming government structure and the role of the accreditation board; the operational relationship between TVET and other diplomas; also a detailed and prioritized plan and the timeline for the implementation of the entire revamped, strengthened accreditation system for the Federation”.
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) was also discussed. Ambassador Doyle shared,“UNESCO has pioneered in this area. It [UNESCO] believes that ESD should be integrated at the curriculum level throughout the entire school cycle, starting at Kindergarten all the way up [secondary school] to sensitize young people to the issues associated with sustainable development particularly in a small island developing state context. This project was also approved by UNESCO, sadly we have not been able to garner or secure the funding for the ESD project”.
Ms. Warner provided brief insights into the composition of the National Commission as well as collaboration with the government departments that reflect UNESCO’s domains of Culture, Natural and Human Sciences and Information and Communication.
Mrs. Henry provided information on the processes of applying for and receiving funding and outlined her related roles.
In response, Minister Hanley expressed:
“I want to thank you [Ambassador Doyle] for the contributions and the assistance that you have been providing to our Federation for many years. As a new minister, I have to learn as much as I can. Thus, I am grateful for the expertise that I have around me. I am happy to be working with Ms. Warner [Secretary General] and her staff as they guide me through the process, especially with the projects that are sponsored by UNESCO. I look forward to furthering meetings and dialogues with all of you.”