Problems plaguing the school system growing

arbados’ school system is expansive by any measure when one compares the size of the country to the number of schools and state-run educational institutions.

Even in a post-Independence era, Barbados prioritised the delivery of education with religious organisations such as the Anglican Church playing a key role in that process.

Today, there are few challenges to accessing education, with the only blemish on that record existing, unfortunately, among some children with special needs.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, the government operates four special schools, 12 nursery schools, a staggering 68 primary schools, and 21 secondary schools. In addition, Barbadians are afforded free tuition at the campuses of The University of the West Indies (UWI), one of which is situated here at Cave Hill.

Barbadians can proudly advance that education is a right of children from ages 4 to 16 and that there is a legal obligation of parents and guardians to ensure children attend school.

The country allocates hundreds of millions of dollars of its national annual budget to provide free education from primary school through to university. But many are convinced that Barbados may not be getting the kind of returns expected from this mammoth investment.

In the last Estimates Debate in the House of Assembly for the 2024-2025 financial year, the government outlined its intention to provide financing to the tune of $131.1 million to the UWI, of which $98.4 million was for economic costs and $32.7 million for tuition fees. This was an increase on the $122.8 million provided to the UWI in the previous Estimates.

In the past decade alone, the education expenditure of this island has run into the billions of dollars. Some have argued that with a platform of free education and a literacy rate in the high 90s as a percentage, it is irreconcilable that more than 7 000 secondary school students left school with zero certification between 2010 and 2022.

This situation ought to be one of the biggest red flags to education policymakers of a deep deficiency in the system. Interestingly, a 2022 World Bank study ranked Cuba, Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda as among the most highly educated nations, with literacy rates approaching 100 per cent.

There is no doubt that this country continues to produce high-quality scholars and young people of excellence in several spheres of activity from the arts, sciences, entrepreneurship, and innovation. However, the current system appears to be failing too many of our children.

The ongoing spate of disruptive school closures casts a most unpleasant pall over the island’s education system. While there is an acceptance that teachers and students must operate in an environment that is conducive to learning and teaching, citizens are rightfully concerned that there is growing disarray in our schools.

It cannot be satisfactory that hundreds of children at one secondary school are still forced to undergo virtual classes for almost four weeks, while officials try to discover what is responsible for a foul odour impacting the institution.

The Ministry of Education’s files are replete with evidence of how negatively students were impacted by the virtual classroom during the COVID-19 pandemic. In many ways, education policymakers are still trying to correct many of the problems from that period.

It would be enlightening for the public to be told the number of children in that rural school, who have been attending online classes and for how many hours each day.

How many of those children have tablets, laptops or desk computers on which to work and how many of them have access to the Internet?

Moreover, it would be essential to know also what assessments will be undertaken by the Ministry of Education and the school to understand how these students’ education was impacted by this prolonged disruption.

The list of primary and secondary schools that have been closed due to suspected environmental issues is growing by the day, as is the frustration of the public.

Though there is enough blame to go around, many have concluded that the lack or poor maintenance of the island’s school plants is at the core of the problem.

Whether those challenges are budget-related, or a lack of proper management at the school level, what is certain is that urgent and comprehensive action is needed.