Dolphin Secondary offering Caribbean Vocational Qualification
Dolphin Secondary School in South Georgetown is benefitting from improved facilities including upgrades to its technical and home economics labs to enhance its Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) training programme.
Headmistress, Krishnoutie Jaipaul, told the Department of Public Information (DPI) that the institution offers CVQ in Agricultural Science, commercial food production, and furniture making. According to the headmistress, students at Dolphin Secondary are excited about these courses.
“We have been selected as a pilot school in the Georgetown educational district to be delivering the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) and as a result of that we were fortunate…” she relayed during an interview Monday.
She said the school is fortunate to have its facilities upgraded by the education ministry, which also includes a new change room and sick bay area. The Ministry of Agriculture also provided the school with a shade house which gives students hands-on training in planting high-value crops such as carrots, broccoli, peppers, and cabbages.
The previous PPP/C Government had introduced a phased CVQ, which is a competency-based qualification in secondary schools, across every educational district within Guyana.
Earlier this year, His Excellency, Dr Irfaan Ali launched the Agriculture and Innovation Entrepreneurship Programme to bolster the agriculture sector, empower youths, and create jobs.
He announced at that event that government would provide all the resources and materials to develop 25 shade houses to be used to house thousands of high-value crops such as broccoli and cauliflower.
At a pre-stakeholder CVQ engagement early in August, Chief Education Officer, Dr Marcel Hutson said all secondary school students should have job-ready, technical, and vocational skills certification by the time they complete their studies because the education ministry is pushing both academic and economic ‘viability’.
He indicated at the forum that the infusion of more technical and vocational training and certification is part of a long-term plan for students’ development.
According to the Caribbean Examination Council, CVQ is based on a competency-based approach to training, assessment and certification. Candidates are expected to demonstrate competence in attaining occupational standards developed by practitioners, industry experts and employers.