Since the amalgamation of the Technical School that was located on Freetown road to form part of the University of Belize, there has been a gaping hole in the education system. There is no explaining why the move was made; in fact, some question why it was done in the first place by the then government. No matter how we arrived at the point where we are, the fact remains that the education system, with the move of amalgamation caused for students with technical aptitudes to have nowhere to go.

The engineering departments that were once central at ‘Old Technical’ became watered down programs within the University’s curriculum. The trade areas that the former institution offered were and still are not being offered by the university. Enter the ITVET program. As it was envisioned by the former government, it was to have been a school for dropouts. It was to have taken in those students who had nowhere else to turn when it comes to getting an education. This government, however, has taken on a different approach to the technical expertise that is to be imparted at the institutions that are spread across the country.

The ITVETs are no longer an alternative only for students who drop out of primary schools or high schools, the ITVETs have been envisioned as a tertiary level form of education. The Math and the English programs will be central in the system but so too will the technical programs. These will form part of the core programs offered by the institution. A student coming out of high school with aspirations to becoming a certified mechanic will have the option to enter the ITVET not because he was unable to succeed in the academic portion of his studies, but because he has an aptitude to become a great mechanical engineer. While the focus will be on capturing those students who choose studies other than the academics, the ITVETs across the country will also offer parallel programs that will cater to those who are unable to make it past primary school or high school for that matter.

For too long the educational system has been focused on weeding out students out of the system who do not have academic inclinations. The reality remains that while there are those who are whizzes in the liberal arts programs there are also those who are geniuses in engineering aspects. As much as we would want for everyone to be able to recite Shakespeare without a society of engineers then we’d be lost. There is a balance that has to be struck in education in this country, and the ITVET program is such a balance. No longer will students with engineering potential be left to settle for studies that they have neither the inclination to nor the aptitude for. This government will ensure that if someday someone wants to be a rocket engineer, the foundation to achieve it would have been set for them. It is a thing of the past to be concentrating only on liberal arts and business studies; this country is sorely in need of inventors, engineers and architects. ITVET will offer us them, just give it a chance.