Estimates: Education gets near $290m to accelerate reform agenda

Education is set to receive almost $290 million in the government’s budget to drive the government’s education reform agenda including plans to modernise schools for digital and physical learning, strengthen teaching, and raise student achievement, minister Chad Blackman on Monday.

 

As the House of Assembly took up the 2026-27 Estimates, the Ministry of Education Transformation asked for $289 649 114 for the fiscal year which begins on April 1. 

 

Blackman said: “Our national transformation agenda is anchored in five strategic goals: raising student achievement, empowering educators, modernising physical and digital learning environments, strengthening the ministry’s internal operations, and updating legislative and governance frameworks to match 21st-century realities,” he said.  

 

He cautioned that reform would not unfold through isolated announcements.  

 

“Transformation is not a single announcement, a single project, or a single budget line. It is a disciplined, step-by-step process of building the system in a transparent way with specific and measurable outcomes, so that families feel the change in real life: in reading, in school safety, in the way our teachers teach, and in the condition of our schools.”  

 

The Estimates also provide for the essential day-to-day operations of the education system, Blackman said.  

 

“Schools must open on time, teachers must be paid on time, bills must be paid, materials must be bought, and administrative services must function efficiently,” he said.  

 

The allocation covers personnel costs, school maintenance, utilities, classroom resources, student support services, examinations administration and other core functions. A well-run system depends on disciplined financial management, timely procurement, responsive maintenance and structured administrative oversight, he added.  

 

For the coming year, the minister identified six priorities which he described as measurable and rooted in what matters most to Barbadian families.  

 

The first priority centred on the development of the whole child, stressing that education was not only about academics and vocational training. He indicated that the ministry would create space within the curriculum for social and emotional learning while nurturing values and attitudes, and giving students skills to prepare them for whatever they needed to do in life and to remain trainable at all stages.  

 

Second, he pledged to strengthen foundational literacy and numeracy, describing them as non-negotiable building blocks of national development. He said that from December 2026 a target had been set to ensure that all students could read, write and compute at the expected levels.  

 

He said investments already made in teacher training and resources had begun to yield results, adding that the country was already starting to see change and that the coming financial year would see a continued and aggressive roll-out of the initiative.  

 

He said the third priority involved reforming teaching methods and assessment, moving beyond what he described as “chalk and talk” alone. He explained that this meant shifting from traditional approaches to new and modern methods designed to engage children more effectively in the learning process.  

 

Blackman confirmed that from September this year, Class 3 students will have their performance measured and recorded, alongside their Class 4 marks, to constitute 50 per cent of their total score for the examination scheduled for May 2028.  

 

Students entering secondary school in September 2028 will therefore do so based on a mixture of continuous assessment and the Common Entrance examination. Placement methodology will also shift, with 50 per cent drawn from the catchment area and 50 per cent from outside.  

 

“Learning is not reduced to a single one-shot examination, but reflects real understanding, problem-solving, and applied skills,” he said.  

 

The fourth priority focuses on fixing and modernising schools to ensure they remain safe, attractive and resilient. Fifth, the minister pledged to strengthen leadership, teaching and support staff by expanding continuous training and ensuring adequate resources.  

 

The sixth priority centres on accountability across the system.  

 

“We will hold everyone accountable – the ministry, school leadership, teachers, students, Boards of Management, PTAs, unions, and all other partners. Transformation is an all-of-country effort.”  

 

Blackman said the reform groundwork over the past two years has included the national literacy initiative, curriculum redesign, teaching standards, quality assurance frameworks, legislative drafting, reforms to electronic management information systems, parent education programmes, international partnerships, financing arrangements, professional development expansion, digital upgrades and infrastructure planning.