Commonwealth education ministers attend workshop

Education ministers and delegates from Dominica, Lesotho, Nigeria, Seychelles, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tanzania, the United Kingdom and Zambia will be in St. John�s this week attending the pre-conference workshop of the Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers. 

The workshop is being held November 23-25 at Confederation Building, Memorial University and College of the North Atlantic. The conference is being hosted by the province of Nova Scotia and will take place in Halifax, November 27-30.

The purpose of the pre-conference workshop is to familiarize Commonwealth delegates with the K-12 and post-secondary education systems in Newfoundland and Labrador. The three-day event, entitled Educational Diversity and Collaboration, will focus on the province�s schools and public post-secondary institutions, and the strengths that have been developed in the province�s education system. Sessions will also highlight experiences in collaborative planning in the education sector.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for Newfoundland and Labrador to show our education system as a place for international students to study and faculty to do research," Acting Education Minister Lloyd Matthews said. "Another important goal of the workshop is to forge partnerships between our province and the countries that are sending representatives here."

"Newfoundland and Labrador has found many innovative solutions to the challenges of providing education to a geographically dispersed population," said Dr. Axel Meisen, Memorial University�s president. "We will share our expertise with the Commonwealth delegates. We are currently completing a special bachelor of education project with Dominica and St. Vincent, and look forward to further collaboration with these and other Commonwealth countries."

"College of the North Atlantic has long been a leader in providing innovative and effective solutions to a variety of issues being faced by the post-secondary education system and industry," said Pamela Walsh, college president. "Aside from being a top-quality learning institution for entry-level students, the college has recognized the need for flexibility in the design and delivery of our programs to ensure access by industry employees and part-time students. We have 18 campuses located across Newfoundland and Labrador, making education accessible for the majority of learners in the province. However, given our distributed learning initiatives, our programs are reaching much farther."

On Saturday delegates will have an opportunity to meet Their Honours, Lieutenant-Governor A.M House and Mrs. Mary House. They will travel to Halifax later that day to attend the 14th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers.

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2000 11 23 5:20 p.m.