Common Entrance may not be abolished this year, Minister says 

There is no definitive timeline for the proposed abolition of the controversial Barbados Secondary School Entrance Examination (BSSEE), Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw has declared.

Amid robust debate and in some cases criticism over government’s “hasty” decision to abolish the exam in just over a year, the Minister says that no changes will be made to the current structure until a thorough consultation process is concluded. This process is set to begin after the 2020/2021 Estimates.

During a recent address in parliament, Bradshaw expressed “hope” that this year would be the last for the Common Entrance exam and indicated that a national dialogue would occur over the next few months to “formulate a programme going forward for implementation in 2021”.

Since then, officials from various political organisations and trade unions have cautioned against making sudden changes to the education system and in some cases, accused the administration of failing to address the real problems in the systems.

But on Sunday, Bradshaw told reporters that firm decisions would only be made after consultation from all stakeholders on the potential transition to middle schools and high schools.

“When we were asked in relation to the actual transition and time frame, I indicated that if we could do it in a year, that would be great, but I didn’t set a timeline and say it is going to be within a year. A year would be a wonderful thing, but we first have to start the process of consultation,” said Bradshaw.

“I think that when this was being transmitted by the media, attempts were made to focus on a timeline as opposed to recognising that what has always been said and what continues to be maintained is that we would always consult with the public. So before any timeline can be set, we have to first go into consultation and engagement,” she added.

She again stressed that an advisory committee, headed by Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Portfolio Manager, Dr. Idomay Denny has been established, which includes other long-standing authorities on education to lead the process.

“But as it is with all educational systems and the reforms that take place, it is not an overnight process and I think anyone who wants to put that in the public domain would really be negligent in the way in which they may want that to come over.

We have also said that there will be total engagement with the public and I have said even in parliament that I want to start with the children. Throughout the course of this conversation, one of the interesting things is that children who have taken or are about to take the exam have a lot to say about how it has impacted them and how they feel about it, and throughout the conversation, we have to pay attention to those who are in the system and recently passed through the system over the past couple years,” the Minister added. (KS)