ITB Dubbed As The ‘Beacon’ For Students
By Ben Ng

Bandar Seri Begawan - Institute Technology Brunei (ITB) has been referred to as a "beacon" by consultants from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).

ITB has been working for years in training students to ensure that they have the necessary skills to equip them effectively upon reaching any workplace.

Consultants from England are here for a weeklong discussion to assist the Ministry of Education in the planning of the new National Educational System for the 21sts Century. This scheme is codenamed SPN21. Yesterday, the consultants visited the institute to gain more insight into Brunei Darussalam's vocational education.

"We're really looking at the reforms which involve the general education and technical vocational education side. So in some ways you receive the end products and in some ways you share the same products, and act as something of a beacon," head of QCA's International Unit, Thomas Robert Leney said.

"I think it has to be said that we've spent much of our time looking at the skills this industry calls for from students, rather than the diplomas that they look at," he added. He feels that ITB has successfully found the solution for giving students a better chance at getting jobs after they graduate.

"It was consistently said that compared to the other places of education and training and indeed compared to your partners in aspects of higher education, that you have commanded successfully the trick of ensuring that your students when they go into the world having graduated, they have the kinds of skills and knowledge that industry employers actually look for," said the consultant.

While in the sultanate, the consultants are expected to conduct a critical review study of the SPN21 draft to further improve the educational system, as well as to gain first hand experience of the local educational institutions' teaching and learning environments.

"We're moving from a system which was piled lull of detail and as it were, clattered with subjects and things that had to be done, to something that is geared much more towards aims and objectives and the kinds of learning outcomes that students need," said Leney.

"So, we're presenting an independent critical review of the kinds of reforms which are either underway or being developed or being piloted that is specifically concentrated on secondary and upper secondary, looking at curriculum assessment qualifications. All of those strategies are needed to make a new system coherent," concluded the consultant.

It is hoped that the weeklong discussions will allow the consultants to provide relevant feedback on reform suggestions that can be incorporated into the SPN2 I document.

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is a non-departmental public body which started some time in 1997, and has been providing assistance in the field of education that includes developing a school's curriculum, as well as providing support in the development of vocational learning. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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