Professor Neville Ying (left), head of Mona School of Business, shares a joke with, from left, Valerie Marshall-Lodge, principal, Morant Bay High School; Dacia Green, school administrator, Caribbean International College (CIC) and Dian Bailey-Brown, enrolment adviser, CIC. The occasion was yesterday's launch of the Caribbean Examination Council's Associate Degree programme at the Hilton Hotel, New Kingston. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer
THE MINISTRY of Education, Youth and Culture yesterday launched the Caribbean Examination Council's (CXC) Associate Degree programme.
CXC is offering associate degrees in business studies, computer science, environmental science, general studies, humanities, mathematics, modern languages, natural sciences and technical studies.
The programme was launched at the Hilton Hotel, New Kingston.
Speaking at the launch, Maxine Henry-Wilson, Minister of Education, Youth and Culture, commended the move but cautioned that "education must be about the creation of good
citizens as the task is more than just providing certification."
CXC Registrar, Dr. Lucy Steward, said CXC decided to introduce the associate degree based on an evaluation of the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) and a comparison of other associate degrees offered across the region.
SEVEN UNITS
To qualify for an associate degree, candidates will be required to obtain Grades I to V in a minimum of seven units at CAPE, of which Caribbean studies and communication studies are compulsory. The first awards will be made in 2006.
Radley Reid, principal of Campion College, urged tertiary institutions to give full recognition of the programme by offering credits to students for courses that they undertake in the Associate Degree programme.
Mr. Reid noted that recognition should also be given to sixth form teachers who will be teaching the programme. He added that the teachers should also be given more contact time, more time for research, added resources and remuneration.
