Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Caribbean Knowledge and Learning Network (CKLN), Ken Sylvester has underscored the importance for Grenadian students to look beyond merely gaining passes at the CXC (Caribbean Examination Council) level.
Speaking at the handing over ceremony of some computer equipment to the T. A. Marryshow Community College (TAMCC) for the implementation of E Learning Programmes, Sylvester indicated that in a world that is driven by information and knowledge, it is not enough to have only CXC's.
He said that should students just stop at the CXC level, they will be qualifying themselves out of the global economy.
The CKLN CEO pointed out that the world's economy is skills-base and skills driven and as such Grenadians must possess global skills and global access.
Sylvester gave some statistics on the access of tertiary education in the Caribbean.
He said that less than nine percent of Caribbean people have access to tertiary education, as against 38 percent of the world's average.
He gave a break down of the percentage of the access of tertiary education in a few Caribbean countries noting that is 40 percent, Jamaica 16.9 percent, and Grenada is approximately four percent."What that say is we need to increase rapidly the percent of Grenadians having access to tertiary education, if Grenada is to participate in the global economy", he said.
"We cannot do that by building more buildings... and in any event, if we build more buildings, where would we get the lecturers from? And even if we get them how can we afford them?" he asked.
Sylvester said that Grenada needs to increase at a rapid pace the number of people having access to tertiary education, "so that they can be relevant in a global economy."
"CKLN is important, because CKLN is bringing to the table a new construct and a new modality of engaging Grenadian citizens in the tertiary education process," he added.
The computer equipment which is for the development of courses for on-line delivery cost approximately US $8,000.00. They include three notebooks and UPS, along with a Moodle Development Server.
"We are providing these computers. We are also providing a software programme which is called a learning management system and we have trained some of the faculty members in this learning management system," he said.
According to Sylvester, the physical expression of the computer hardware is a small manifestation of a lot of other work his network has been doing with TAMCC in the last year.
CKLN has been funding a full-time consultant to work with the council of the college to help plan their strategy for the development of the college in a wholistic form.
Faculty members of the college have also been receiving training from CKLN in the use of technology for developing courses and programmes for the delivery of on-line programmes.
The CKLN CEO observed that it will be useless to provide hardware technology to colleges without building the human resource capacity by having them trained in utilising the technology that is available.
He said the presentation of the computer hardware is just one component of a very wholistic and comprehensive plan and strategy that CKLN has in enabling TAMCC to be able to increase access of education for Grenadians.
Sylvester pleaded for a vigorous effort to be made in having Grenadians wherever they are to give them the opportunity to access tertiary education.
The CKLN Official warned that if Grenada does not seek to increase on the percentage of the number of people who have access to tertiary education then this country will not be empowering its citizenry to have access to the world's global economy.
He said the intention of the computers that was presented to TAMCC's Principal, Dr. Jefferey Britton is the beginning of a strategic intent to build capacity in the college that will allow the educational institution to provide tertiary education access to a wider populace of Grenadian citizens.
Sylvester disclosed that CKLN's strategy is to connect TAMCC, as a tertiary institution, to all of the other institutions in the Caribbean.
He said that once TAMCC is connected to all of the other colleges in Caribbean along with St. George's University, Grenadians will be able to have access to all courses and programmes developed by all of the universities in the Caribbean.
