2nd Chance Educational Program
What is TBS Second-Chance Remedial Training Programme all about?
This program is designed to offer an opportunity to reenter the school environment to school dropouts or students left behind. The programme offers an opportunity for participants who lack the skills and certifications needed for employment to equip themselves for further training and the job market.
Reasons for School Dropouts
There are a variety of reasons why individuals may have dropped out of the high school system. These include:
- Teenage pregnancy[1]
- Economic reasons e.g. families’ inability to provide financial and other resources such as fees, uniforms, etc. to support their children’s passage through high school.
- Ineffective teaching practices for slow learners, resulting in poor grades, class failure, and eventually dropouts.
- High absenteeism due to lack of parental direction/control and ineffective school administrative policies.
- Behavioral problems due to a single-parent family structure i.e. fatherless boys or girls, or due to negative peer pressure, etc.
Most student dropouts are from disadvantaged or poor households. Second-chance programs recognize the pervasiveness of poverty and single-parent families and are offered to help students overcome these limitations. The failure or inability to acquire the skills for life and job attainment poses serious consequences for youths. A second-chance program provides students an opportunity to acquire secondary, and ultimately, tertiary education. This invariably produces qualitative and quantitative improvements in the lives of youths.
Why Should Government be involved?
There are several reasons why the government should be involved with second-chance programs. Firstly, governments have a responsibility to advance the lives of the disadvantaged. Most school dropouts are students whose circumstances have been less than ideal (single-parent households, low socio-economic background, etc.) and who have not been able to access the support systems necessary for successful matriculation through high school.
Secondly, dropping out of school exposes youths to all types of risky behavior (including drug abuse, crime, violence, prostitution) which have negative consequences for society. Thirdly, there are tremendous long-term financial and other costs incurred to remedy those consequences, and studies have shown that government investment in second-chance programs for youths has a greater return than investment in adult training.
Vision of the Program
TBS Second-Chance Remedial Programme provides an opportunity for school dropouts or students left behind to acquire the skills and training necessary for employment and/or further academic achievement.
The objectives of the program are to:
- Improve students’ academic ability in Mathematics, English Language, Information Technology, and Social Studies.
- Enable students to acquire the necessary academic skills, knowledge, and certification that can make them eligible for a job and self-sustainability.
- Impart the academic knowledge to enable students to take the CXC examinations within one to two years.
Provide students with the necessary academic base so that they can be placed in technical and vocational programs.
Attach students to employers through our work-study program
Provide the catalyst to make students lifelong learners and responsible members of their communities.
Increase the number of adults who have at least one-year post-secondary education/training.
Equip students with the necessary life skills to be successful in their jobs, homes, and communities.
Make students fully aufait with the necessary ICT skills to ensure their effective functioning on the job and in the conduct of their lives.
Provide the necessary training and awareness of the environment so they can actively participate in bringing about a green economy.
The second-chance program is about more than just success at academics. It is about instilling strong moral and ethical values in sons and daughters. It is about inculcating the values of honesty and hard work. It is about developing leadership abilities and a passion and commitment to achieving success in life.
All females and males on the program must participate in our DADD (Directing and Developing Daughters) and DADS (Directing and Developing Sons) programs.
The modules in the DADD (Directing and Developing Daughters) program are:
- Daughters’ relationships with their Fathers.
- Daughters’ relationships with their Mothers.
- Women’s’ and Girls’ Reproductive Health and Rights.
- Daughters and Early Pregnancy.
- Daughters and Domestic Violence.
- Daughters and Self-Esteem, Confidence, Exposure and Independence.
We have developed seven (7) modules for our DADS (Directing and Developing Sons) program:
- Sons and Fathers – Boys’ Relationships with Fathers.
- Sons and Daughters – Boys’ Relationships with Mothers, Sisters, Aunts, and other Females.
- Sons and Values – Teaching Boys how to Inculcate Values of Hard Work, Discipline, Honesty, Integrity, Kindness, and Community Service.
- Sons and Domestic Violence – Teaching Boys their Role in Maintaining Domestic Violence-free Environments.
- Sons and Leadership – Teaching Boys how to Provide Leadership in Schools, in the Family and Community.
- Sons and Health – Teaching Boys how to Eat Healthily and the Danger of Drugs, Alcohol, and Tobacco.
- Sons and Competition – Teaching Boys the Values of Fair Play, Giving their Best, etc.
Delivery of the Programme
The Second-Chance Remedial Program is managed by the college Management Committee. This committee includes:
- The Director
- The Deputy Director – High School
- The School Counselor
- The High School Coordinator
- The Quality Assurance Officer
Specifically, the committee will:
- Determine registration requirements and processes.
- Determine the structure of the program.
- Determine the resource personnel for the program.
- Structure of the course outline and timetable.
- Determine testing and other forms of assessment.
- Determine the evaluation criteria.
- Determine the teaching and learning strategy for the program.
Academic Placement
The program consists of two stages:
- The Foundation Stage
- The Advanced Stage
Participants are placed in the appropriate stage, depending on the level of their academic background and ability.
The Foundation Stage is for participants who are not strong academically and who are at the Grade 7 or 8 levels. These students may have difficulty with reading, writing, and Mathematics. They would have dropped out of school at an early age in secondary school. This foundation stage will last for nine months, and participants will be exposed to the following subject areas: English, Mathematics, Information Technology, Life Skills, Social Studies, and call center operations.
Also included in the foundation stage are a number of workshops dealing essentially with life skills and certain modules in the DADD and DADS program.
While the program is co-educational, the DADD and DADS programs will be conducted separately for boys and girls.
The Advanced Stage (15 months) will comprise students who would have completed the Foundation Stage and students who would have discontinued school after being unsuccessful at writing CXC or students who would have dropped out at school at fourth or fifth form. To be placed in the Advanced Stage, students must score 55% and more on the Advanced Level Entry Test. These students will demonstrate the ability to write a number of subjects at the CXC examinations.
The following subjects are included at the Advanced Level: English, Mathematics, Information Technology, Office Administration, Social Studies, Integrated Science, Principles of Business and Human and Social Biology. The core subjects in the group of subjects are English, Mathematics, and Information Technology. For Information Technology, students will cover, at a minimum, the foundation, advanced and expert stages of Microsoft Office.
Also included in the Advanced Stage are life skills workshops and the DADD and DADS programs including a number of workshops on entrepreneurship, switchboard operation, and receptionist.
The Life Skills Programme includes:
- social skills development and public speaking
- self-esteem and self-image training
- leadership development and mentoring
- career exploration and guidance
- resume preparation and job interview preparation
Students in the Advanced Stage will also benefit from the Employment Assessment through job attachment under our current job placement program.
[1] Students who are pregnant may attend classes in the Second-Chance program up to the time of their delivery. Students with young infants may attend school with their infants who will be placed in our on-site daycare while mothers are in the classroom.
TBS Second-Chance Remedial Programme provides an opportunity for school dropouts or students left behind to acquire the skills and training necessary for employment and/or further academic achievement.