The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (minOWC) is strengthening vocational education as part of the renewal of education. The minOWC entered into a partnership with the Dutch organization CINOP, Center for Innovation of Education and Training. They offer training to the lecturers at the Vocational Education (LOBO) Teacher Training in providing distance learning.
Director Gracia Valies-Ormskirk of Vocational Education was present before the formal start of the training. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, she believes that there is a need for a change in the way of teaching. “This situation has made us creative. We are now making more use of online meetings, which prove to be time-saving and effective. ” The students will produce competences to effectively carry out distance learning.
The training is tailor-made for the Surinamese situation and lasts three days. Three modules are then provided, namely Online Education (in relation to COVID-19), Strengthening cooperation with the private sector and Entrepreneurship.
The training module is part of a project that was approved on March 26, 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was started on April 11, 2022. The project duration is one year. In addition to the training module in distance learning, two modules will also be provided to strengthen the relationship between TVET schools and the private sector and entrepreneurship training. The CINOP delegation, consisting of three people, will offer the training courses physically and online to the selected teachers of the LOBO.
CINOP is a Dutch consultancy that focuses in particular on capacity building with a strong focus on improving vocational education worldwide. The total grant of €74,020 for this project has been made available by the Nuffic organization. Nuffic is a non-profit organization for internationalization in education and manages programs for the ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.