06 March 2021

Second Minister for Education Maliki Osman has said that it will now take less time for Institute of Technical Education students to obtain a Higher Nitec qualification. He said that the ITE curriculum will be streamlined to achieve this aim.

According to the Ministry of Education, more than half of the 2019 cohort of Nitec graduates progressed immediately to a Higher Nitec qualification in 2020.

Dr Maliki is also leading a review into employment outcomes for ITE and polytechnic students. He has shared some preliminary ideas which have emerged from his review, which involved speaking to over 400 stakeholders linked to the polytechnics and ITE, including students, graduates, parents, employers and industry partners.

The ideas included recognising students’ diverse interests by strengthening porosity and flexibility in educational pathways, ensuring that courses and curriculum remain relevant to industry, and investing in the life skills of students, for instance cross-cultural communication and critical thinking.