A team of Surinamese school inspectors is expected to arrive for a study tour of Jamaica’s inspection programme during the first quarter of this year, the education ministry said in a news release at the weekend.

They will observe Jamaican inspectors at work and assess the links between inspections and school improvement.

“This was agreed during last month’s preparatory meetings in Suriname among representatives of the two countries’ education systems,” the release said.

The meetings were coordinated by Suriname’s Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (MOESC) and chief inspector of Jamaica’s National Education Inspectorate (NEI), Maureen Dwyer was invited.

The meeting was arranged in continuation of the collaboration between both countries started under the Basic Education Improvement Project (BEIP11) in April 2019.

During the visit, representatives of Suriname’s National Assembly, the minister of education, senior staff of the Planning and Inspections Unit, school inspectors, and other key stakeholders within the education system discussed the role of the inspector in the transformation and change agenda.

At the appreciative inquiry sessions, Dwyer provided an overview of the transformation process in Jamaica as well as the current operations of the NEI. This allowed for self-assessment by stakeholders and confirmation of the need for the transformation of the Surinamese education system and in particular, the inspectorate arm.

Representatives of the MOESC expressed a desire to emulate Jamaica’s current inspection model. There was general agreement that the Jamaican system’s approach held possibilities for their Surinamese counterpart.

The sessions also provided opportunities for self-evaluation and reflection as the Surinamese inspectors garnered a deeper understanding of their role in promoting school and system improvement as well as to assess their work critically and reflect on how they can become agents of change in their country.

According to the release, the sessions were designed, and conducted, on constructivist principles and as such, data were collected and analysed, which helped the group to connect, on the spot, and enabled them to discuss the implications of these for change.

The Surinamese representatives agreed on the importance of revising their current inspection framework and the qualifications framework for inspectors; the establishment of education standards; the use of data to inform school improvement planning; and the establishment of a national inspectorate.