St. Kitts and Nevis education ministry elated over continued collaboration with harmonized OECS

The Ministry of Education of St. Kitts and Nevis is excited to continue collaboration with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) after representatives of the OECS Commission’s Education Development Management Unit visited the Caribbean island-nation recently. The visit took place to advance the harmonized OECS curriculum for primary schools, which is referred to as OECS PEARL (Programme for Educational Advancement and Relevant Learning).

The ministry said in a post on its official Facebook page that the visiting officials took part in meetings and activities on February 4 and 5, 2025, which featured St. Kitts and Nevis’s Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Geoffrey Hanley and the Permanent Secretary of Education Lisa Pistana. Besides, the chief and deputy chief education officers and members of the media were also in attendance. 

The visit aimed to help members of the PEARL’s project management team understand the local challenges that may affect the OECS programme’s successful implementation. The occasion also created an opportunity for the education ministry to collaboratively develop strategies to achieve the intended missions of the PEARL agenda.  

During the OECS officials’ visit to St. Kitts and Nevis, the local officials looked at the OECS PEARL digital platform that could go a long way to transform the primary education system in the entire Caribbean region. It gives teachers access to structured lesson plans, instructional resources and assessment tools that are aligned with the harmonized curriculum. 

Education ministry shares local experience with OECS team

In 2020, the education ministry launched pilots of an enhanced curriculum for primary schools (grades 2 to 6) and introduced more such programmes at the remaining grade levels till 2023. It shared the experience it gained from the initiative with the visiting OECS Commission delegation.

During the mission’s visit, representatives of the ministry spoke with both OECS officials and local educators to look into the platform’s preparedness for complete implementation. Other stakeholders such as teachers and curriculum officials also took part in the meetings to understand how daily classroom instruction could be integrated into the system. 

The OECS delegates also met Maria Crawford, director of the St. Kitts and Nevis government’s Education Media Unit and her team to discuss ways for effective utilization of multimedia resources in the rollout of the OECS PEARL curriculum. 

About OECS PEARL

The OECS launched the PEARL initiative in September 2021 to elevate the standards of primary education across the region. 

In a concerted effort to elevate primary education standards across the region, the OECS has introduced the Program for Educational Advancement and Relevant Learning (PEARL). 

It is a four-year programme which aims to facilitate progress towards the goals of the OECS Education Sector Strategy through better access and improved learning experience for students in basic education. 

Funded by the Global Partnership for Education, the largest global fund dedicated to transforming education in lower-income countries, the OECS PEARL initiative standardizes curriculum content across OECS member states while seeking localized adaptations for enhanced learning outcomes.

The OECS team also visited other member-states of the organization from St. Kitts and Nevis.