Antigua and Barbuda has launched a brand new tertiary establishment described as “revolutionary,” following the merger of a number of post-secondary faculties into one nationwide school.
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The Antigua and Barbuda School of Superior Research (ABCAS) was formally unveiled Tuesday at Sandals Grande. It combines Antigua State School, the Antigua and Barbuda Worldwide Institute of Expertise, and the Antigua and Barbuda Hospitality Coaching Institute. A fourth establishment, the Harrison Centre Antigua and Barbuda Institute of Persevering with Training, can be anticipated to affix the merger.
The consolidation was made doable by the ABCAS Invoice 2025, which handed each homes of parliament earlier this 12 months.
Training Minister Daryll Matthew hailed the transfer as a milestone for tertiary training supply. “By bringing these establishments collectively, we create one thing greater, higher,” he stated, noting that ABCAS will present a seamless pathway for college kids from certificates stage to bachelor’s levels. He careworn that whereas integration of methods and budgets could also be difficult, it provides a possibility to modernize training and widen entry.
“It’s a deliberate technique by my administration to make sure that we’ve got an inclusive and progressive society,” Matthew stated. “We should present an entry level for each single Antiguan and Barbudan to enhance their expertise or instructional standing.”
Through the launch, the school’s new emblem was unveiled, and the chief staff and board of trustees had been launched.
Browne units main 10-year training goal
Prime Minister Gaston Browne used the ceremony to announce an formidable objective: that inside a decade, a minimum of half of Antigua and Barbuda’s inhabitants will maintain a university or college diploma.
Calling the merger an “instructional revolution,” Browne linked the goal to his authorities’s broader technique of inclusion and competitiveness. He pointed to the brand new alternatives accessible via ABCAS, the College of the West Indies 5 Islands Campus, and worldwide scholarship applications.
“Throughout the subsequent ten years, a minimum of 50% of the inhabitants ought to have a minimum of a university or college diploma,” Browne stated. “Each Antiguan and Barbudan will need to have some type of talent or instructional attainment with a purpose to make a significant contribution to nation constructing.”
Browne acknowledged that the pledge may pressure native establishments and the labor market however argued that an oversupply of graduates was preferable to a scarcity. If jobs can’t soak up the variety of degree-holders, he stated, Antigua and Barbuda may “export expertise” slightly than danger underemployment.
The Prime Minister additionally urged that ABCAS embody management and civics coaching, saying training ought to instill self-discipline, nationwide satisfaction, and civic duty alongside teachers.
Framing training because the engine of nationwide growth, Browne stated the federal government was decided to eradicate illiteracy and place Antigua and Barbuda as an “financial powerhouse” of the Caribbean. He famous the nation already ranks highest within the area on the United Nations Human Growth Index and predicted it will break into the highest 40 globally inside three years.
