VIP’s Sharie B. deCastro pushes economic reform through education
Ms deCastro, an At-Large Candidate of the VIP revealed her plans for the Territory during a speech at the VIP’s Meet and Greet for the 2019 elections season on Wednesday, January 16, 2019, at Maria’s by the Sea in Tortola.
Alternative outlook
“As the youngest candidate contesting this general election, I recognize that my peers and I have an alternative outlook on the trajectory of the future of these Virgin Islands. With your vote this team of thirteen can chart a course to make a successful economic transition,” Ms deCastro told those gathered in the packed conference rooms of the venue.
Sticking to her areas of expertise, Ms deCastro said to do this, the territory must develop an economic strategy around education and the advancement of its human resources.
“The Virgin Islands must have a bold long-term vision of the role of education in the economy. Our education system must include a very clear end goal. We must constantly scan the environment for changes, particularly around job skills and requirements. This will serve as a compass to help us chart the educational journey of our students and determine scholarship priorities,” she uttered.
Focus on Science - deCastro
The VIP At-Large Candidate further emphasized that for the VI to keep up with changes taking place in the world, the students of the territory must be grounded in the foundations of science, numeracy and literacy.
“Secondary schools must become centres of excellence for traditional disciplines, including the arts and sciences, as well as technical and creative disciplines. This is intended to give students genuine and beneficial choices, wider career options and remove any sense of failure attached to pursuing a non-academic path.”
She says the government of the day must, therefore, invest heavily in developing a high-quality teaching force and a solid cadre of leadership within the school system.
Ms deCastro implored, “allocation and policy choices within the Ministry of Education must endorse and remunerate teaching as a well-respected profession that contributes significantly to nation building.”
“We must know what caliber of students we want to produce. As we seek to diversify our economy we must strongly consider the industries that we are interested in diving into and secure its future by equipping BVIslanders and Belongers alike with the skills necessary to monopolize those industries,” she said.
“As we consider getting our feet wet in new industries, with the hope of one day swimming we must find ways to embed in the minds of our children, knowledge and awareness of the careers available in those industries so that they can acquire the academic and technical qualifications to one day become the forbearers and trailblazers in those specialty areas.”
According to Ms deCastro, “We cannot simply think today for tomorrow. Right now, the BVI is pregnant with possibilities. As citizens and leaders, our most crucial responsibility right now is to future proof the BVI.”
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