Minister of Education Priya Manickchand and other ministry officials are urging secondary schools to participate in the Sagicor Visionaries Chal-lenge 2014 competition that seeks to inspire students to use and develop STEM (Science, Techno-logy, Engineering and Mathematics)-based solutions to challenges in their schools or communities.
In 2010, the Caribbean Science Foundation partnered with Sagicor and the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) to launch the Visionaries Challenge. On Wednesday, at the launch of Visionaries Challenge 2014 programme, held at the National Centre for Educa-tion Resource Develop-ment, Education Minister Priya Manickchand lauded its methodology of bridging the gap between academic and practical application noting that it will produce better learning outcomes.
“We could have science in the class room and teaching on the blackboard and using the text books … but if we cannot teach our children to practically apply what they learn in the classroom whether that be in the science subjects or other subjects then I think we are failing them in some regard, and this is what this entire challenge allows us to do for our students. It really allows us to say these are the things we have learnt and here is how we can practically apply them in our communities,” Manickchand said.
Manickchand also referred to the ministry’s soon-to-be finalised and published five-year strategic plan and the Education Bill that has been laid in the National Assembly, a report from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said.
In her address, Deputy Chief Education Officer, Division B, Doodmattie Singh said that the Sagicor Visionaries Competition complements CXC’s objective of nurturing students to become the ideal Caribbean person, over the five years of its secondary programme. CXC developed a syllabus, and revised, and introduced new subjects. Teachers were also trained and school-based assessments introduced in order to realise this vision. “CXC therefore sees a greater partner in Sagicor Visionaries and as such there has been a lot of sharing of materials,” she said.
According to GINA, students participating in the programme are first evaluated and judged at the national level in each of the Challenge countries, with the winning school in each country moving on to the regional competition and the representatives of national school winners and their respective teachers participating in a seven-day, all-expenses STEM Ambassador Programme to Florida.
Manager, Corporate Communication, Sagicor Life Inc, Marlene Chin said that when Sagicor Life embarked on the Visionaries Challenge in 2010, it had not fully realised its life-changing impact. It provides an opportunity for young people to make a difference and to expand their intellect.
“For us at Sagicor and the young visionaries, the use of the word STEM was new territory, but the more we talked to our partners at the Caribbean Science Foundation and at the Caribbean Examination Council it became clear that what we saw as uncharted territory was truly the next frontier…,” Chin said. “Engaging students in STEM studies primed the region for further technological and economical development…” she said, adding that “It is our hope that fostering young visionaries at this stage will ignite an interest in innovation and arm tomorrow’s workforce with the necessary tools to develop sustainable communities throughout the Caribbean.
The Sagicor Visionaries Challenge is being carried out in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, St. Lucia, Tampa (Hillsborough County) and Trinidad and Tobago.
