Transforming Education with DECI

A new digital education initiative is being heralded as one of the most transformative interventions in education in the Eastern Caribbean since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The Digital Education Capacity-Strengthening Initiative (DECI) project, which was led by the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and supported by UNICEF and USAID, makes digital education tools available to thousands of children and teachers across the subregion.  

OECS acting Director of Human and Social Division  Sisera Simon, at the DECI closeout ceremony revealed that the initiative was launched in June 2022 in response to calls from education officials for resources to assist students, teachers, and parents at the height of the pandemic. Simon however revealed that the learning materials developed will assist children recovering from learning losses caused by the pandemic.   

“We have listened to you, and we decided that if we are to add any value and respond to your needs, tackling the urgent need for content, we needed something that would be holistic, engaging and most importantly informed by the people who are supposed to access and use it,” said Simon.  

The OECS official recognised support from UNICEF and USAID to strengthen the capacity of teachers and principals to develop culturally relevant content that can be accessed by all.  

“DECI is really at the heart of the heart of the OECS education sector strategy and in there we pledge to strengthen information technology across the education sector,” she stressed.  

Initiative consistent with TES commitments 

More than 1500 curriculum-aligned learning units were developed and over 600 educators were trained to use the learning materials under DECI. 

UNICEF Representative for the Eastern Caribbean Pieter Bult said the progress of DECI is consistent with pledges made at the United Nations Transforming Education Summit in New York last September. Regional leaders committed to integrating digital technologies into mainstream education and building more resilient education systems in response to emerging external threats like climate change.  

“The DECI project directly speaks to many of these commitments and especially the integration of digital technology and education and as UNICEF, we are very happy to see that in such a short time, so many results were already achieved through this project and of course these results will continue to bear fruit and continue to affect the lives of thousands of children across the region,” said Bult.  

The UNICEF Representative expects that over 145,000 children and 12,000 teachers will benefit from the resources and pledged UNICEF’s continued commitment to prioritise education in the OECS.

Digital education "a necessity"

More than 1500 curriculum-aligned learning units were developed and over 600 educators were trained to use the learning materials under DECI. 

UNICEF Representative for the Eastern Caribbean Pieter Bult said the progress of DECI is consistent with pledges made at the United Nations Transforming Education Summit in New York last September. Regional leaders committed to integrating digital technologies into mainstream education and building more resilient education systems in response to emerging external threats like climate change.  

“The DECI project directly speaks to many of these commitments and especially the integration of digital technology and education and as UNICEF, we are very happy to see that in such a short time, so many results were already achieved through this project and of course these results will continue to bear fruit and continue to affect the lives of thousands of children across the region,” said Bult.