His Excellency John Williams, Ambassador of Barbados to CARICOM, Minister of State, Hon. Cynthia Forde, Members of the Headtable, the Board of Directors of the Barbados Accreditation Council, Senator Dr. Frances Chandler, Senator Sandra Husbands, Dr. Basil Springer, Mr. Ben Arrindell, Chairman of the Barbados Private Sector Association, Heads and representatives of employer and employee organizations, Managing Directors and Chief Executive Officers of private sector agencies, Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Departments, Principals/Heads of private and public post secondary and tertiary educational institutions, specially invited guests, ladies and gentlemen: Good Morning and Welcome to the Official Launch of the Barbados Accreditation Council. Today marks a significant milestone in post secondary and tertiary education and training in Barbados, as we publicly recognize the establishment of the Barbados Accreditation Council.

The need for this Council was first recognized in the mid-1990s as there was a growing concern that the post secondary and tertiary environment in Barbados was changing as citizens were no longer restricted to a limited number of overseas institutions and course offerings and, the number of local institutions and programmes of study were expanding. Further, it was evident that the forces driving the growth of this area of education and training were as a consequence of the developments in information and communications technology and the liberalization of trade, services and the labour market.

This prevailing situation resulted in an expansion in the number qualifications which were being offered by local and foreign-based institutions operating in Barbados. It was further exacerbated by unfair practices of some institutions and the increasing number of nationals and non-nationals who were presenting qualifications attained through courses of study at regional and international institutions.

 The primary concern was the currency and value of the various qualifications offered by local and foreign-based post 3
secondary and tertiary institutions, especially as it related to the transferability of students into programmes of study offered by the Barbados Community College and the University of the West Indies. In 1997, a study on accreditation, equivalency and articulation was commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports under the Government of Barbados/World Bank Human Resource Project and conducted by Dr. Alvin Ashton and Mrs. Norma Holder.

At Special Meetings of the Standing Ministers responsible for Education in 1997 and again in 1999, it was agreed that a regional accreditation mechanism linked to national accreditation bodies should be established, as a means of facilitating the implementation of the free movement of skills within the CARICOM territories. Article 35 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas requires that “ Member States shall establish or employ, as the case may be, appropriate mechanisms to establish common standards to determine equivalency or accord accreditation to diplomas, certificates and other evidence of qualifications secured by nationals of other Member States”.

It was therefore decided that the establishment of the national accreditation bodies should be accorded the highest priority, taking precedence over the establishment of the regional body. To this end, CARICOM commissioned studies on “Strengthening/Building National Accreditation Bodies”, including one relevant to Barbados, Guyana and Suriname.In May 2000, as part of the thrust towards developing a quality culture environment at the national and regional level, a Manual entitled “Procedures and Guidelines for a Regional Mechanism for Accreditation, Equivalency and Articulation” was developed through a collaborative effort between the Association of Caribbean Tertiary Institutions (ACTI), Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), the European Union and the Commonwealth Secretariat, and compiled by the Tertiary Level Unit of the University of the West Indies. This document provides guidelines and best practices for establishing and operating Accreditation, Equivalency and Articulation (AEA) systems.

In the region, there was an inordinately long delay in the establishment of national accreditation bodies since the University Council of Jamaica nineteen years ago. The Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago was established in 2004 and this agency has taken over the functions of the former Committee on the Recognition of Degrees and National Institute of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (CORD/NIHERST). St. Kitts and Nevis has also recently established an accreditation body called the St. Christopher and Nevis Accreditation (SNAC) Board and other CARICOM States including Antigua, Guyana, and St. Lucia have recognized the need for accreditation bodies and are in varying stages of establishing agencies with responsibilities for accreditation in their own territories.

At the international level, developed countries have sought to address quality assurance issues through the establishment of accreditation bodies such as the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in the United States. This Council is the authoritative body on the quality assurance of post secondary and tertiary institutions and programmes and specialised accrediting organizations and in New Zealand, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority is responsible, amongst other functions, for the national qualifications framework in order to provide quality assurance of educational awards offered to its nationals.

 International and regional developments coupled with the proliferation of post-secondary and tertiary institutions and qualifications in Barbados, have necessitated the establishment of an institution which would provide the criteria/standards on accreditation and related issues such as equivalency, articulation and conferment on institutions of titles such as “university” and “university college”.

 In June, 2004, the Barbados Accreditation Council was established by an Act of Parliament, the Barbados Accreditation Council Act 2004-11 with two (2) broad roles:

Firstly, the registration of institutions offering post secondary and tertiary education and programmes of study, the accreditation and re-accreditation of programmes and institutions in Barbados and related functions, such as recognition and equivalency of local and foreign-based qualifications, articulation and conferral of institutional titles; and Secondly, the granting of Certificates of Recognition of Caribbean Community Skills to applicants who satisfy the requirements for recognition as skilled CARICOM nationals and examining and verifying of Certificates of Recognition of Caribbean Community Skills granted to community nationals by their own country.

The Board of Directors of the Council was appointed in September, 2005. Its membership is tripartite in nature and therefore represents the interest of employers, employees in the public and private sector and government. Since the establishment of its Secretariat in May, 2006, the Council has recruited its technical, administrative and office support staff and commenced work on its areas of priority for the financial year ending 31st March, 2007. Some of its achievements to date include:

1. The hosting of a promotional and educational seminar on June 14, 2006 to sensitize stakeholders of the Council’s roles and responsibilities.

2. The development of a framework for registration, accreditation and recognition and equivalency systems which has been submitted to the Minister of Finance, particularly as it relates to the approval of fees for user services;

3. The processing of approximately twenty-eight(28) requests from individuals, private sector employers and the Public Service with regard to the recognition and equivalency of local and foreign-based qualifications and awards;

4. The establishing of relations with competent bodies to act as clearing-houses for certifying CARICOM nationals under the following categories specified for the Certificate of Recognition of CARICOM Skills Qualification, namely;

- Sportspersons (National Sports Council)
- Media Persons (Government Information
Service)
- Musicians and Artistes (National Cultural Foundation)
- Nurses (Barbados General Nursing Council)
- Teachers (Ministry of Education)

5. The issuing of approximately seventy-five (75) Certificates of Recognition of CARICOM Skills Qualification of which approximately forty-nine (49) or 66% were nationals or residents of Barbados.

Please note that the number of certificates issued represents only those received by the Council, from January, 2006. The Immigration Department was previously responsible for granting status to CARICOM skilled nationals. Further, the number of certificates issued to nationals or residents of Barbados is not an indication of the actual demand for the Certificate as the CSME Implementation Unit, Prime Minister’s Office, has reported to the Council that Barbadians have also taken up the opportunity to be recognized as skilled CARICOM nationals in countries such as Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

It is without doubt that the Barbados Accreditation Council has a strategic role to play in the development of the human resources of Barbados. I therefore wish to urge each one of you to assist the Council in its activities which can only redound to the benefit of Barbados and the region, as a whole. I believe that all stakeholders will benefit from an improved quality assurance environment in post secondary education and training.

• Government will benefit as the accreditation and related systems will be transparent, coherent and promote public confidence and institutional accountability;

• Employers will benefit as the Council will be a credible source of information on the quality of education and training being offered in Barbados by local and foreignbased institutions and on recognition and equivalency of various qualifications and awards attained locally and internationally;

• Institutions will benefit from official recognition through registration, accreditation and conferral of appropriate titles by the Barbados Accreditation Council. There will be the added value from “free” promotion as the Council will be publicizing all registered and accredited institutions through various media, such as its website and the Official Gazette. As part of its developmental role, the Council will also be providing technical advice and support through seminars/workshops aimed at assisting institutions and service providers with meeting the required standards/criteria for registration and accreditation and related activities.

• Individuals will benefit from the public information available on registered and accredited post secondary and tertiary educational institutions and programmes of study in Barbados. In addition, information will be provided on the equivalency of various qualifications offered by local, regional and foreign-based institutions or course providers, and on articulation arrangements between institutions. Where there is a variance between the institution’s published prospectus and its practices, students will also benefit from an effective means of recourse through the Council’s complaints system.

Within the next hour, the Board of Directors, members of staff and key stakeholders will be embarking on a Strategic Visioning Retreat, as the first stage in the development of a Strategic Plan for the Council, which will be facilitated by the Caribbean Business Enterprise Trust (CBET).

The Council recognizes that the involvement of its stakeholders will be critical and will therefore be seeking to collaborate with and form partnerships with agencies such as the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council, Association of Caribbean Tertiary Institutions (ACTI), its regional and international counterparts, the private sector, tertiary educational institutions, professional bodies, and the public sector to ensure the successful implementation of its strategic goals and objectives.

On behalf of my Ministry, I wish to thank the Board of Directors which is chaired by Canon Noel Titus and the staff of the Barbados Accreditation Council for their commitment and dedication towards their responsibilities in what can be considered as a “reform” initiative in this area of education.

My Ministry fully supports the work of the Council and it therefore gives me great pleasure to officially launch the Council and extend best wishes for its future. Finally, I wish to extend best wishes for a productive and enjoyable Strategic Visioning Retreat today, and look forward to receipt of the Strategic Plan within the next few months.

Thank you.

Download a (pdf ) version of this speech here:

Content on this page requires Adobe Reader