Regional priorities for skills and technical education in the Eastern Caribbean States amid COVID-19 – World Bank Group

The impact of the pandemic on students

The leaders of the national colleges expected that COVID-19 would have detrimental impacts on the student population. For instance, one-third of all survey respondents indicated that new students entering the system will be less academically prepared. Moreover, about half of all survey respondents believe that student dropouts are rising and that new students will be negatively affected by mental health problems due to the pandemic.

The participants in the national colleges meeting agreed that the pandemic had posed new challenges that national colleges are not ready to address appropriately. They stressed that it has become imperative for them to work together as a network to face emerging challenges. A key take-away from the discussions was the need to operate more collaboratively than in silos. Working across ECS colleges could help design and implement more efficient joint solutions, such as shared digital content platforms, improving student services, and fostering teacher professional development.

Most survey respondents considered that promoting collaboration across national ECS colleges is a priority. Nonetheless, all respondents indicated that their current level of collaboration is low due to a lack of a clear framework and financial resources.

Survey results also showed strong concerns regarding the inadequacy of financial and human resources available for the provision of student services. These include remediation, counseling, and employment support. They also indicated that national colleges lack information systems capable of assessing the needs of employers, identifying students at risk, and tracing student employment to work transition.

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Regional priorities for skills and technical education in the Eastern Caribbean States amid COVID-19 - World Bank Group