NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (September 26, 2023) -A delegation from the Ministry of Education and Information Technology in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) is presently participating in a ten-day tour in Estonia and Finland aimed at exposing Education and IT professionals to practices in the European countries which allow for the effective integration of technology into the education system.
The Ministry is represented by Ms. Zahnela Claxton, Principal Education Officer and Mr. John Williams, Education Officer responsible for STEM at the Department of Education and Mr. Jevon Claxton, Deputy Director of the Information Technology Department. The Ministry representatives are accompanied by Minister Counselor, Mrs. Elsa Wilkin-Armbrister, Alternate Permanent Representative to BIE and IMO, St. Kitts and Nevis High Commission to the United Kingdom.
A digital education system addresses several components including but not limited to data capture and management, teaching and learning and communication.
The European country of Estonia has a population of approximately 1.3 million persons and has successfully achieved a comprehensive e-governance system that also captures educational services. Estonia is number 1 in Europe in digital education. This is according to the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) which assessed the European countries’ performance of digital learning. Finland has been hailed as having a model education system that facilitates technology integration and supports student success and also ranks in the top three in digital education.
The Department of Education is entering the second year of the official rollout of the STEM initiative which allows for a system-wide exposure and transition to the key components of STEM education. Included in the outputs are increased exposure to digital literacy which includes skills for students such as coding and empowerment of personnel at the department and school levels.
The delegation, which combines education and information technology professionals within the Ministry of Education, will be poised to lead the way in the digital transformation and to ensure that teachers and students are global and future-ready.
The visit is being facilitated by the Nevis Island Administration with support from the NevThi Group based in Dubai.