Education Minister requests UNESCO’s assistance for further teacher training in BVI

Education Minister Dr Natalio Wheatley has requested assistance for further teacher-training from the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for local educators.

Dr Wheatley made the request during his speech at UNESCO’s recently-held 40th General Conference in Paris, France.

He said the BVI has successfully embarked on numerous teacher-training programmes in the past and now aims to have more teachers qualify with bachelors’ degrees in education.

“For our teaching staff, we continue to facilitate professional development and for our students, our quest is to implement programmes to ensure that their reading skill reaches an exceptional level,” Dr Wheatley stated.

“In these pursuits, we will welcome UNESCO’s expertise and a specialist to assist with further teacher training which is paramount for optimal achievement. Equipping our teachers with the tools and expertise will ensure that our students continue to excel,” the minister further said.

Dr Wheatley also said that as the first step towards understanding and addressing the many challenges faced by the BVI, government will continue to receive UNESCO’s assistance with data management.

“Since the UNESCO Institute for the Statistics produces the most comprehensive and trusted global education database, and capacity development is a cross-cutting priority, we will continue to seek UNESCO’s support in data collection analysis and distribution of results.”

UNESCO’s conference determines the agenda and policy of their organisation. It also sets their programmes and their budget.