Minister: Erdiston expanding its reach

Erdiston Teachers’ Training College is being completely transformed into a pedagogical centre.

 

That’s the word from Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ronald Jones, who spoke of new degree programmes to be offered by the College and refurbishment of the ageing campus, as he noted that within ten years’ time his ministry wants that all teachers are fully trained.

 

Speaking at the Democratic Labour Party’s George Street headquarters on Friday, he told those attending the weekly lunchtime lecture, that major upgrades are being done to the infrastructure, including converting the previous dorms into much needed classrooms. He disclosed that the eastern block has been turned into two classrooms with the roof currently being put on, while the southern block has been converted to three classrooms and he said that roof should go on within another week. All the renovations, he said, will bring the number of classrooms on that side of the compound to nine.

 

“We have also been refurbishing the recreational room, as well as quarters for the support staff, that it is completed. We are going to do some work on the resident block, which is a two-storey building, which has been abandoned, since there were no students living in anymore. So we are going to turn those into office space and classroom teaching space as soon as tenders give us the permission to so do,” he said.

 

 

In addition to the infrastructural work, he said changes are being made to the curriculum. The education minister said that among the new additions to the programmes of study, is the Bachelor of Education (Primary) which will start on September 1. He said that programme will be offered as a fulltime day programme for persons who have never taught and an evening programme for teachers already in the system with an Associate Degree in Education.

 

“We have taken a decision that you must come to the classroom already trained. We know it is a four-year programme so we might still have to bring in a few who are not trained, but train them as quickly as you can,” he said.

 

Jones indicated that he also wants that Erdiston offers in the future a Bachelor in Early Childhood Care and Development catering to those who work in early childhood facilities and nurseries as well as a Bachelor of Education in Special Needs Education. These two programmes, he said, will hopefully be started within another year or two. With that in mind, he said the intention is to eventually target specialist teaching in Mathematics and Literacy. (JRT)