Dr. Michael Dowlath, Chairman - Closing Remarks at ACTT's 1st National Conference - November 18, 2011

REMARKS
BY
DR. MICHAEL DOWLATH, CHAIRMAN, THE ACCREDITATION COUNCIL
OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
AT THE
CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE
1ST NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON QUALITY ASSURANCE IN HIGHER
EDUCATION
ON NOVEMBER 18, 2011
AT 4:00 P.M.

Salutations
Minister of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education, Senator The
Honourable Fazal Karim,
Members of the Council’s Board of Directors
Executive Director, Michael Bradshaw, ACTT
Members of ACTT’s Executive Leadership Team
Chairmen, CEOs, Members of Boards, Heads of Organisations and
Management Teams under the Ministry of Science, Technology and
Tertiary Education (MSTTE)
Institutional Heads and Management Teams
ACTT staff members
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon everyone,
As we come to the close of our two day conference we wish to thank you all for
contributing to the success of ACTT’s 1st National Conference. We hope that you
received useful information which you can share with your colleagues and use for
the improvement of your organisation.

Over the last two days there were many leaders in the industry who shared their
experiences and findings in various aspects of quality assurance all focussed on
Promoting a Culture of Quality in the higher education sector. It is our expectation
that you will build upon their experiences and maintain robust quality management
systems with the support of all levels of personnel in your organisation.

I would like to underscore the recurring theme of presentations – that programmes
offered in Trinidad and Tobago must meet the needs of society. Institutions must
undertake research to determine what skills are required by employers and design
or revise programmes to reflect emerging market demands. Certainly dialogue
between institutions and employees is imperative. The Government of Trinidad
and Tobago also subscribes to the view that programmes offered must be relevant
to the needs of this society. Deputy Permanent Secretary, Angela Sinaswee-
Gervais gave an insight into some of the issues to be discussed at the upcoming
GATE Consultation. Such as: Current and projected skill gaps in the labour
market, effective mechanisms to monitor student’s obligatory service, and limiting
GATE only to programmes that are of national economic priority.

In addition, Graduates can no longer afford to be satisfied with having a degree. It
is incumbent upon them to retool and remain current in their field. Upgrading ones
skills does not necessarily require a physical return to school. Professor Bourne, in
his feature address yesterday, revealed that there are over 30,000 on-line
programmes offered worldwide. Tertiary education is now accessible to all who
are willing to seize the many opportunities available. We at ACTT strongly
encourage you to take up this challenge and we stand ready to provide you with
authoritative advice on the recognition status of local and foreign programmes and
institutions.

The Board and Staff of ACTT are committed to ensuring that we provide guidance
for improvement of the higher education sector. We will ensure that ACTT keeps
abreast of international developments in quality assurance in higher education and
imparts these developments to our stakeholders.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you for joining us in our journey towards raising
the bar of quality in higher education and I look forward to seeing all of you at the
second national conference. In closing, I wish to thank the members of staff of
ACTT who have worked assiduously in coordinating the various activities
associated with ACTT’s Quality Assurance Month.