Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 28, 2018 (SKNIS): Deans from the Clarence Fitzroy Byrant College (CFBC) have urged secondary school institutions in St. Kitts and Nevis to prepare students to be college and career ready as from time to time some of them are turned back due to the lack of pre-requisites needed to enter the college.
“Many times what transpires is that there is that gap between the fifth form and the sixth form level of study – our pre-CAPE level or pre-advanced level studies – the transition can be quite demanding for some students and the parents have to be aware of this,” said Dr. Moyia Rowtham, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Science, and General Studies (ASGS). “For quite a number of years what we have been seeing in ASGS is a number of students coming in wanting to pursue certain subjects but they do not have the prerequisites. We are seeing more and more students being turned away because they do not have English Language and they do not have Mathematics.”
Dr. Rowtham used the example of some students who want to pursue Spanish or French, but who do not possess English Literature, which is a prerequisite for pursuing these courses.
“What we are now saying is that English Literature is an asset because what we found… I don’t know if teachers are not aware that when they do come, there is a literature component to the study of modern languages,” she said. “You’ll also find students who would come and they want to pursue an Associate’s Degree in Law but in order to do that you need English Literature and so the high schools need to be aware of the combination of subjects that students need.”
She reiterated that high schools need to be aware of the subject offerings that exist within their institutions and that the subjects students run away from are the subjects that they need to pursue for the pre-university level.
Dr. Rowtham appeared on “Working for You” on Wednesday, June 27, with her colleagues Andrew Abraham, Dean of the Faculty of Technical, Vocational, Educational and Management Studies (TVEMS) and Wanda Hughes, Dean of the Faculty of Adult Continuing Education (ACE), to engage the audience in a discussion on the programmes offered at the CFBC, the qualifications required for admission, the graduate requirements, and other matters relating to the educational programme at the CFBC.
