Atherley: Education reform must address key issues to be successful

By Jenique Belgrave Any attempts at education reform must eliminate systematic bias in education, create curricula that are relevant, prioritise teacher enhancement and guarantee education funding. That is the view of former Opposition Leader Reverend Joseph Atherley who said if these dynamics were recognised, “we stand a chance at achieving our national development dreams”. Government’s planned education reform proposes the elimination of the Common Entrance Exam and a change in the secondary structure to introduce Junior Academies at the junior level and Academies of Excellence at the senior level. Touching on the middle school idea, Reverend Atherley said it was important to do away with the “entrenched dynamics of elitism and class advantage” in transitioning students from one level to the next. “Continuous assessment and objective allocation of student numbers and talents are desirable, but if an associated scheme of establishing middle schools and schools of excellence is to be pursued otherwise than strategically, and to be adopted under a system which retains its institutional bias and perceived preferences and prejudices, then we are simply going to be spinning top in the proverbial mud. The emphasis must be on school specialisation and not merely on school tie differentials, even if by another name,” he said. The former MP added that any real attempt at education reform must move students in the direction of becoming successful business owners. He further asserted that understanding the history of education was crucial in the process of education reform. “It has always been my view that whatever mechanisms this country employs in educating our populace, they are inadequate, insufficient and dysfunctional unless every student understands that we were once slaves in their fields until we became servants in their houses. We were subsequently promoted to being stewards in their offices – accountants, senior clerks, managers, cyber chiefs and so forth – but the education offered to our young people fails the desired objective unless our people understand that the next step in the journey is to become their successors in ownership,” Reverend Atherley said. He insisted that for the proposed reform to be meaningful, it must take into account the island’s socio-cultural and economic underpinnings and respond to these challenges. The leader of the People’s Party for Democracy and Development urged the reformers to indicate how the new system would ensure that students derived the highest benefit from the learning experience, particularly in being more productive in the interest of national development. He said any transformation of the education sector must withstand any negatives associated with the ideologies of Western nations while embracing the values of Barbadian society. “Our country right now is perceived to be at a crossroads with respect to our values orientation. Traditional value poles appear to be threatened by imported influences from the culture of Western developed countries. The impact of the tech revolution dynamic increases exposure to alternative value sets. “Education reform must prepare our adult citizens of the future to understand and appreciate their identity and the values of ethical relations, integrity, industry, and accountability which flow from that values platform. It must equally help us to resist becoming subject to any destructive potential associated with foreign values prescriptions,” stressed the veteran politician. jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb]]>