The Centres for Excellence in Teacher Training (CETT)

The great challenge facing Caribbean countries is not enrolling children in primary education but rather, improving the quality of primary education. Although Caribbean countries are of modest means, they have all made significant investments in education, with particular emphasis on primary and secondary education. All Commonwealth Caribbean countries have achieved universal primary education and the vast majority of students complete the primary cycle in six years. However, at the end of grade 6, between 20 and 30 percent of students are functionally illiterate and less than half are reading at grade level.

The Centers for Excellence in Teacher Training (CETT) is a Presidential initiative, announced by President George W. Bush at the April 2001 Summit of the Americas. The Caribbean CETT (CCETT) is based in Jamaica and is managed by the University of the West Indies, Joint Board of Teacher Education and targets the English-speaking Caribbean. It is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). C-CETT is providing innovative leadership in empowering, inspiring and equipping teachers in the first three grades of primary schools to improve the teaching of reading and thereby assist students to improve their mastery of the fundamentals of reading.

The principal strategy of the Caribbean CETT is a network of Professional Development clusters involving dynamic local partnerships between selected primary schools, teachers colleges, and the Regional or District offices of the Ministry of Education. The network of Professional Development Clusters is being coordinated by the University of the West Indies through the Joint Boards of Teacher Education and supported by the Universities of Belize and Guyana.

The Caribbean CETT is guided by the national policies of Ministries of Education and work closely, collaboratively, and constructively with Ministries with respect to projects and programmes related to improving literacy and reading supported by development partners, including the Canadian International Development Agency, the British Department for International Development, Inter- American Development Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank. Such interaction and interrelationships are critical to expediting and maximizing the efforts of all stakeholders and actors in Caribbean education to achieve the ‘Education For All’ targets set for 2015.

So far the Caribbean CETT has been tremendously successful. In the first year of operation, Centres were established in Jamaica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Teacher training will begin in the fall of 2003. In the second year, Centres were established in Guyana and Belize, Barbados, The Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The long-term goal is that eighteen teacher-training colleges in 12 countries will provide teacher training using CETT methodologies and materials. Establishment of sustainable public-private partnerships will make achievement of this expansion goal possible.

Caribbean CETT is seeking to train a total of 5,000 teachers, impact and influence the work of at least 500 primary schools in the teaching of reading, and positively influence the instruction of at least 150,000 students in primary schools in the Caribbean.

An important feature of the CETT is the development of public and private sector partnerships. To date, corporate sponsors that have made significant financial and in-kind contributions include Air Jamaica, Scholastic, Alcoa Foundation and Illuminat. The first conference for donors was held in March 2006 to continue to cultivate new partners who are interested in helping promote and strengthen the teaching and culture of reading in primary grades throughout the Caribbean.

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