Technical school moves to get CXC accreditation
Principal of the Virgin Islands School of Technical Studies, Andy Francis. (BVI News photo)
The Virgin Islands School of Technical Studies (VISTS) will be undergoing an accreditation process by the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) in September.
That is according to the Principal at the VISTS, Andy Francis.
Francis said the school is aiming to ensure that students can graduate the Baugher’s Bay-based facility with a Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) in Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET).
CVQ is an award from CARICOM that must be earned after candidates are able to demonstrate core work practices that are consistent with the regional TVET standards.
“What it means is that apart from the core courses that the students will do here; they embark on that certification which comes with a whole lot of quality monitoring and evaluation by auditors,” Francis explained.
He said getting the technical school accredited “ensures that once the students leave, it is a testimony that the qualification has gone through all the reliability and validity tests and it can be accepted in the business sector.”
School being made ready
Francis said the technical school now needs to be ‘brought up to par’ if it is to be accredited.
“Why? Because CXC wants to ensure that whatever facilities we have, it is at industry standard,” he told BVI News yesterday.
“We cannot be running a programme with labs or facilities which is below industry standards.”
Part of the accreditation process is to ensure that all the equipment and tools are available, the staff has the requisite qualifications and experience, the curriculum is up to standard, and safety equipment such as fire extinguishers are fully visible and functional.
The school must also have a safety committee, Francis said.
He added that VISTS also needs to ensure that it fosters a partnership with industry stakeholders and that parents are involved every step of the way.
Francis said it is ‘very likely’ that the technical school will become accredited when it is evaluated.
He said plans are already being set in motion to achieve the goal.
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Hadn’t realized it wasn’t accredited and below par so yep this needs to happen asap!!!
BV Islanders no longer good enough for any type of post under this NDP Government- we losing the country under our feet
But I thought that this school was shown as a model to be emulated by some visiting teachers when it first shown by the Minister of Education.
They were all very impressed by the technology in use at the school.
Ah Well, this man sounds serious and knowledgeable and so we should get accreditation that is meaningful.
This is nothing different to what has been happening over the past years as the process started long ago. The issue is government dont want to spend the money to fix things when a local is telling them but always jump when it comes from an expatriate no offense to the new principal. I am simply sick of government playing games. The facility is only lacking a Auto Lab on campus. The government needs to stop selling dreams on the backs of our children.
As I understand from your post, THE SCHOOL IS ONLY
LACKING AN AUTO LAB……WOW!!!
Been lacking from time it opened. The current shed and equipment sudents using was not even done by the government but instead fundraiser money and parents help.
So with all the educators we are blessed with the Minister could not find a single local to head the school- this country in trouble boss