Education for All: Embracing Change, Securing the Future
Critically, enrolment in general tertiary-level education is also low, with approximately 1,011 persons enrolled across the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College( 115 males, 384 females), the University of the West Indies Open Campus( 90 males, 287 females), and Nevis Sixth Form College( 46 males, 89 females). 20 In general, there are more females than males enrolled at the tertiary level. With respect to participation at this level by island, it should be noted that enrolment at the Nevis Sixth Form College is hindered by narrow course offerings and physical space constraints, as it is housed on the crowded campus of the Charlestown Secondary School.
Box 2: TVET constraints
26
❚ TVET suffers from low status and the misperception that the courses are for less able students. ❚ Poor articulation of programmes( formal and non-formal) constrains the ability to easily navigate
TVET opportunities and progress to higher levels of training.
❚ There are weak links between the needs of the labour market and TVET offerings, partly because of the lack of adequate labour market information and inadequate private sector involvement in TVET management. ❚ No formal post-secondary TVET opportunities are offered in Nevis. ❚ There is limited TVET offering in high-skill areas and at management or advanced levels. ❚ Demand for National Skills Training Programme( NSTP) courses has declined due to increased enrolment in the People Employment Programme, which provides on-the-job training and pays a salary. ❚ The value and portability of existing certification is limited. ❚ The mechanism for recognizing and assessing prior learning is not in place.
Source: GoSKN, 2013b, 2014a; UNESCO, 2014; and World Bank, 2015a, 2015b cited in GoSKN, 2016.
Equity in access and participation
To support the access and participation of children from low-income households, the GoSKN and the NIA have implemented social assistance programmes to defray the costs of school meals, textbooks, examinations, and uniforms, where applicable. 21 However, as captured in the 2012 – 2017 National Social Protection Strategy, better collaboration between the Ministries of Education and Ministries of Social Development on both islands is needed to improve targeting and reduce inefficiency in service delivery, as there are errors of inclusion and exclusion in existing service provision.
Differences between males and females in participation have been noted at the secondary level and beyond. These will need to be addressed if SKN is to meet Target 4.5 for SDG 4, which aims to eliminate gender disparities in participation by 2030. Additionally, meaningful participation may be constrained for English language learners, taking into consideration the growing number of persons immigrating from the Dominican Republic in the Federation, for many of whom English is not a first language. This is an area for further investigation. Lastly, the extent to which persons with physical disabilities can access and participate in mainstream schools is limited, as most education and training institutions are not handicapped accessible.
2.3. Quality and relevance
This section presents information on the quality and relevance of early childhood to tertiary education in the Federation, and contemplates not only outputs from the system( i. e. student performance), but also inputs and teaching and learning conditions that contribute to the quality of the system’ s output. The section also takes a cursory look at the external efficiency of the system, and presents issues of equity, as applicable.
20. Enrolment for 2013-2014 used for the CFBC, but excludes Adult and Continuing Education and DVETMS, as enrolment for these programmes is captured under post-secondary and tertiary level TVET.
21. School Meals are free in St. Kitts, but not Nevis.