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Pitkin wants colleges to better prepare students for work, university

Published:Monday | January 14, 2019 | 12:00 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Custos of St James, Bishop Conrad Pitkin, is calling on the Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica (CCCJ) to do away with how things have been done in the past to better aid students in today's globalised world.

Pitkin, who was addressing the just-concluded annual conference of the CCCJ at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort, Montego Bay, said such a step would help to improve the marketability of students.

"To meet these expectations, as educators and facilitators, you need to depart from the ideas of pedagogies of yesterday and become bold advocates to develop the sort of learning and disposition needed for our students," said Pitkin. "There is no debate that we are living at a time of exceptional innovation where teachers and advocates have to find ways to empower students for future success."

The custos said that students were graduating into a world where they lacked the knowledge, skills and other qualities needed to generate success.

"Today's students are graduating into a world that is interconnected as never before. The shifting of global context demands that students develop the knowledge, skills attributes and commitment to the global world through the educational process," noted Pitkin.

 

Glimpse of university

 

Commenting on the mandate of community colleges, Pitkin said that they should give students a glimpse of what to expect at the university level. "What we have noticed is that community colleges are forging ahead to empower students for the future. You have changed the landscape of learning and has offered our students much more than what is expected," said Pitkin.

"As educators and facilitators, you are called to reimagine your students' institutional mission and to create pathways for future empowerment, so while you collaborate and deliberate, there is also a critical need to involve young people in your decision-making. You cannot talk about sustainability and development without the active involvement of young people," added Pitkin.