Acting ed ministry chief confirmed in job
(CNS): Cetonya Cacho, who has been acting as chief officer in the education ministry since August of last year, has finally been confirmed in the post. She has officially taken over the largest ministry in government, with 1,039 employees covering youth, sport, agriculture and lands in addition to education. Cacho was the deputy chief in the ministry but took on the chief officer position when the former CO, Christen Suckoo, was moved without real explanation to a post overseeing the utility regulator, OfReg.
Cacho has a long career in education behind her, having begun her working life after graduating from university as a teacher. At just 28 years old she became principal of Bodden Town Primary School. By January 2012, she was appointed manager of Initial Teacher Training in the Ministry of Education. She was then promoted to the deputy’s job before eventually reaching the top post in the ministry.
Over the years she has been involved in broadening training opportunities for Caymanians wanting to pursue education careers and has led both the development and implementation of internationally recognised education degrees at the University College of the Cayman Islands.
Cacho has led a number of legislative and regulatory reforms in the education field. In particular, the Education Law, 2016 and the regulations were both revised under her direction. She also led the process for the Baseline School Inspections for all 16 government schools in Cayman over a one-year period.
As well as having an MBA with a higher education management specialism, she is currently in the process of pursuing a doctorate in education from the University of Durham.
Commenting on her official appointment, Cacho said she was grateful to continue working at the ministry and leading the team towards delivering a world class service. “To date, my own professional motto has always been: ‘Everything I do is for the benefit of the children I serve’. I plan to use this to help empower others to be the next successful leaders of the Cayman Islands and global competitors on the world stage,” she said.
Deputy Governor Franz Manderson said he was extremely pleased to see someone with such a passion and enthusiasm for her field placed in this role. “Ms Cacho has a wealth of invaluable experience helping to create greater opportunities for our future generations. I look forward to her continued successes in this role as she serves the people of these islands,” he added.
Education Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly described her as extremely dedicated.
“I am particularly impressed by the positive impact she has on her team,” the minister stated. “She is extremely supportive and committed to ensuring that they are equipped with everything they need to perform and serve in their roles well. I am not surprised by her professional accomplishments to date.
“Chief Officer Cacho epitomizes world-class service leadership and rises to the occasion whenever she is called upon to do so. Unequivocally, her initial calling was to education and it has undoubtedly manifested effectively into all the portfolio areas now under her responsibility,” she added.
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Category: Government Administration, Jobs, Local News, Politics
With no disrespect. Ms. Monteith is the Director for Education now. She been in education so long. She must be tired and ready too retire by now.
The Education Minister is yet another Government mandarin who describes ad nauseam almost anyone or anything in the Civil Service as “world class”. This phrase should be banned in this context as it only serves to promote ridicule.
How very Caymankind of you.
Congratulations Dear Ms. Cacho, you are one of us you breathe the same air and you live with the same predicaments that we all have. There are many of us who believe in you and are praying( yes you evil nay sayers ) that you will perform to the highest level and attain maximum results for the present and future citizens of these Islands. Stand strong and ignore stupedi talk.
So could she maybe lead an initiative to change the school times to a little bit later so that we’re not stuck in traffic for 20 hours every morning?
What donkeys would give thumbs down to a comment encouraging the CO of Education to keep the children’s interest as a priority and to remain humble? Have some real fools here.
Well deserved Cetonya! The exact definition of a hard working Caymanian!
First and foremost, congratulations to Cetonya.
Now Gov’t, she was appointed permanently to the role on 01 August 2019. Why did it take Govt over 2 months to issue the notice of appointment?
The cycle of madness continues.
I am so impressed with the promotions in the civil service these days. I attended an event earlier this year where the Deputy Governor revealed that women earn slightly more than men in the civil service and women dominate senior posts in the Service. This made me feel so proud. What the civil service has achieved is only a fantasy in the private sector.
Congrats Ms Cacho you have us very proud.
Linda, you are so right, for sure there’s nobody in the private sector that provides “world class” leadership, or “world class” anything else for that matter, maybe because they don’t have their heads in the clouds.
Congratulations Cetonya. I wish you all the very best in your future endeavours and continue to keep the best interests of the children as the priority.
Remain the humble person that you are.