Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/5690/-1/140/
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Strides In Post Secondary Education: COLLEGE UNIT TO OFFER MORE COURSES
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Anguilla is well underway to handling the training needs of its own people and to give them a sense of pride and achievement while they remain on the island serving in various fields of employment. Their employers, who recognise the benefits of the training to their establishments are, like their workers, being commended for their active participation in the programmes by the Community College Development Unit which is hoping to add other courses to the available list.
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A number of the invited guests
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Project Director, Dawn Reid, outlined some of the plans of the Unit at the opening ceremony at its new accommodation facilities in the Rogers’ Office Complex at George Hill on Friday, February 15.
The Unit was originally located in the Cannon Ball Building on the Airport Road. “Our old accommodation, to which we had become much attached, was quite comfortable but was limited in size and did not allow for expansion,” she observed. “Our new spacious accommodation at the Rogers’ Office Complex allows for larger classes and also provides the flexibility for the establishment of two more divisions of the college and some aspects of a possible training component of the hospitality studies programme.”
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Ministers of Government and others
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Mrs. Reid went on: “We are still under construction in terms of procurement of the necessary furniture, installation of our Information Technology Infrastructure, the construction of our training kitchen and cafeteria and purchase of the necessary specialised equipment including computers to enable the offering of training in Information and Communication Technology.”
Mrs. Reid said that as the Unit began its tenure at the Rogers’ Office Complex, the time was ripe to begin developing plans for the building of permanent accommodation for the National Community College.
She promised that more information would be given later as plans are ratified and approved by the relevant bodies, and about the assistance being provided by various agencies and individuals.
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Mr. Rodney Rey, Rev. Weekes, Mr. Rogers and Dawn Reid
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“What I can say at this point, is that we have allocated space for the offering of programmes in technical studies and adult and continuing education in addition to hospitality studies,” Mrs. Reid said. She added that, hopefully, the Unit might be in a position to offer training in food preparation, food service and bartending during the summer.
Rodney Rey, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Chairman of the Project Steering Committee, said the working teams were “one step closer to our dream of opening the Anguilla National Community College.” He hoped that the next time such a ceremony is held it would be “to bless a Government-owned facility for the provision of tertiary education in Anguilla.”
He went on: “This ceremony represents a clear indication of Government’s social development policy in action…We are satisfied that the Ministry of Education and the Government of Anguilla have it right this time and that there is collective commitment to quality education and training at all levels.
“Government has spent considerable sums of money for the provision of tertiary education through our Community College Development Unit. We also note that considerable sums have been approved in this year’s budget to establish the governance framework for the college and the expansion of programmes for the young people of Anguilla.”
Minister of Education, Evans Rogers, said that in its response to the new imperatives of education, the Government had made access to post-secondary education a priority and was unanimous in its effort to develop the island’s human resources right here in Anguilla.
“This facility will improve local access to post-secondary education training and allow an increased enrolment in the offering of the short-term courses in hospitality training as we strive to continue our efforts of realising a National Community College,” the Minister stated. “The need to move to these new and larger premises shows the interest in and demand for training. This Government places a premium on striving towards excellence, realising full potential through individual achievements and attainment for all learners, tutors and stakeholders.”
Mr. Rogers added: “I congratulate the students who have demonstrated a commitment to life-long learning. I also commend the [business] establishments for supporting their employees in accessing education that would help them to be productive members of society and to enable them to enjoy the benefits of Anguilla’s development.”
The two sections of the Rogers’ Office Complex allocated for the college unit were blessed by Methodist Supernumerary Minister Reverend Cecil Weekes who joined in expressing much commendation for the steps being made in post-secondary education in Anguilla. He was grateful that the Community College Development Unit held out a promise to the present and future generations of Anguillians, and for “the opportunities of personal development it had already afforded in its short existence and would increasing continue to provide.”