Minister calls for education co-operation

Employment Minister Barry Gardiner has told the Association of Northern Ireland Colleges’ (ANIC) conference at the Manor House Hotel in Enniskillen that recent Reviews of Post-Primary and Further Education provision in Northern Ireland project a vision of "a consistent, coherent curriculum that celebrates vocational experience as well as academic learning".

Emphasising the need for co-operation between schools and colleges to make the vision a reality, the Minister said: "Changing the educational arrangements for the 14-19 age group is not something we contemplate lightly.

"We need to build on the strengths of the current system, but also to tackle a number of weaknesses, including the absence of a significant vocational dimension in the educational experience of most young people.

"We also need to address the overemphasis on the pursuit of full-time, higher education, rather than work related learning with part-time education."

Paying tribute to the leadership displayed by the Association and the colleges in the current climate of change, Mr Gardiner added: "I am encouraged to see that ANIC continues to play a pivotal role in supporting co-operative ventures between industry and the colleges.

"The Association has developed a ground-breaking project with Enterprise Northern Ireland which brings together the collective expertise of colleges and enterprise agencies to encourage entrepreneurship among students in further education."

ANIC, which succeeded the Colleges’ Consultative Forum, came into operation in April 1998, to coincide with the Incorporation of Further Education Colleges in Northern Ireland.

The Association currently represents all 16 Further Education colleges, with the two largest colleges, Belfast Institute (BIFHE) and North-West Institute, having rejoined the body last year.

(MB)