Up Front
Groundbreaking retreat setstone for EHRC ministry
At the EHRC retreat which was attended by Heads of Department,ministry staff, and other persons considered to have relevantinput. L-R Front row: Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Joy Basdeo; ChiefEducation Officer (ag.), Mrs. Nyda Flatley; trainer, Dr JudithGates; Administrative Officer, Patrice Donalds; Labour Director,Mr. Dale Banks; Cayman National Cultural Foundation Artistic Director,Mr. Henry Muttoo; National Gallery Director, Leslie Bigelman;National Gallery Director Designate, Nancy Kirkcaldy; and MinisterHon. Roy Bodden. 2nd row from left are: Museum Director, Ms. AnitaEbanks; Librarian Susan Tennant-Miller; Senior Assistant Secretary,Mr. Nical Carter; Community College President, Mr. Sam Basdeo;Administrative Officer, Mr. Doss Solomon; Superintendent of Pensions,Mr. David Richardson; trainer Harris McCoy; National ArchivesDirector, Mr. Philip Pedley; and Chief Schools Inspector, MaryRodrigues.
The Ministry of Education, Human Resourcesand Culture (EHRC) has developed a statement of guiding principlesfor its work.
Heads of Department within the ministry staged a meeting of mindsat the Community College on Wednesday, January 10, to developa core philosophy that would underly future ministerial policy.
Former Vision 2008 trainer, Dr. Judith Gates and Mr. Harris McCoyof Landmark (Cayman) Ltd. Led the all-day retreat.
Asked to comment on her objective for the session, Dr. Gates said:"It is expected that these principles will underpin all ofthe ministry's policy statements and actions. As a result, theymust be sufficiently general that all departments will be ableto apply them, providing cohesion to the work of the whole ministry."
Participants had high praise for the project and its anticipatedoutcome. Labour Director, Mr. Dale Ebanks said he had appreciatedthe opportunity to work with other Heads of Department.
"I feel we have a strong advantage in this new ministry inthat our subject areas are as compatible as possible. The LabourLaw, as an example, calls specifically for training. To my mind,this makes it particularly appropriate for Labour to be in thesame ministry as the Education Department," Mr. Ebanks said.
Claiming that the ministry had shown foresight in developing linesof communication between its different areas of responsibility,Superintendent of Pensions, Mr. David Richardson added: "Itis to everyone's benefit to have an infrastructure that linksus and allows us to operate together. The departments have compatibilityand now they feel like they are going to have input on the directionthe Ministry takes with regards to policy."
Other key officials who attended the retreat included Chief EducationOfficer, Mrs. Nyda Flatley; Chief Schools' Inspector, Ms. MaryRodrigues; Community College President, Mr. Sam Basdeo; NationalArchive Director, Dr. Philip Pedley; Museum Director, Ms. AnitaEbanks; and National Gallery Director, Leslie Bigelman.
Minister, Honourable Roy Bodden said he and Permanent SecretaryMrs. Joy Basdeo had the idea for the retreat at the mid-Novembermeeting of Commonwealth Education Ministers in Halifax, Ontario,Canada. The conference had focussed strongly on the link betweenuniversal education and human resource development in member countries.
Mr. Bodden said Mrs. Basdeo had worked since her return to developWednesday's session in keeping with the objectives of the Halifaxconference. The Permanent Secretary, in her speech at the startof the morning, also related the exercise back to the variousongoing island-wide strategic planning initiatives including Vision2008, Government's financial reform initiative and Executive Council'scovenant with Cayman.
"My dream is that our Ministry will lead the way in implementingthe spirit of Vision. We are a ministry about people, their history,their culture, their aspirations, their hopes for a secure futurethrough work and retirement and life-long learning..," Mrs.Basdeo said.
The completed guiding principles of the Ministry of Education,Human Resources and Culture are presently with ExCo awaiting itsapproval.