As teacher unions await more details about the government’s proposed education transformation, a veteran educator has put on record his general support for the plans, saying it was satisfying to see action being taken after years of talk about reform.
Retired principal Jeff Broomes told Barbados TODAY on Friday that he welcomed the proposals – though he has reservations about some areas – as there are many areas in the education system in need of improvement.
On Thursday, education officials unveiled the education reform plan which includes abolishing the 11-plus exam and replacing it with a new mode of transferring students from primary to a two-stage secondary structure, from the 2025 academic year.
When contacted for their reaction to the proposals, president of the Association of Public Primary School Principals Ivan Clarke and president of the Barbados Union of Teachers Rudy Lovell said they did not have access to the official proposals document and had only seen the summarised version that was disseminated during the launch. Efforts to reach Barbados Association of Principals of Public Secondary Schools Stephen Jackman were unsuccessful.
However, based on what was presented, Broomes said he supports the transformation.
He told Barbados TODAY: “For years, we have been mumbling and grumbling about addressing the negative issues in education. Finally, we are seeing some action. This is a testimony to good leadership, whether or not you agree with the proposals.
“For too long, we have had ‘noun leaders’ who were just in love with the position without ever embracing the challenges; they did very little and made no attempt to make any improvements in education. We have also had ‘adjective leaders’ who were full of talk and fluster and ended up doing nothing. Now, we have ‘verb leadership’ where things are being done in an attempt to address and solve perceived problems.”
Broomes said he supported many of the tenets of the proposals such as the creation of personalised student profiles from preschool, mainstreaming special needs students into regular schools, introducing a new curriculum based on areas of national significance, and career counselling.
“Any time you are going to transform the system, there are things you need to look at such as student and national development, civility and conflict resolution, skill development and productivity, rather than teaching for an exam, and transportation and concomitant challenges. You can’t be teaching the children and when they finish school ten years later, they don’t have a job and are not contributing to the country.
“The focus must be coordinated to what is best for the country as a whole so we produce people who can be outstanding citizens and help with the development of the country,” he added.
Under the proposed two-stage secondary system, there will be Junior Colleges of Excellence for children 11-14 years old and Senior Colleges of Excellence for children 15-18 years old.
Broomes, who has close to 50 years of experience as a teacher, cautioned that “age groups for colleges must be carefully addressed”.
“Experiences and natural emotional development of children must inform the process. I think it would be a mistake to put what are now third-formers at the top of any school. Either have the middle school as a two-year institution and the senior as four years or begin the middle at what is now Class 4 and let the senior college begin at what is now third form.”
Broomes also said that diagnostic testing and remediation will be critical going forward.
“The process of transfer should not be as elitist as [the system] currently exists. Attempts must be made to produce the best quality student at each stage, rather than simply separating the highly performing from those who are performing at a lower level. Hence, diagnostic testing and remediation must be integral to the process.
“Weaker students must also be given the same directed attention as those at the top of the academic ladder. We invest in Barbados Scholarships and Exhibitions. I support that thrust. On the other hand, we do nothing for those most in need of help,” he contended.
As it relates to the announcement that the government will be erecting two new schools for students with special needs, Broomes said he needed more clarity on whether those educational institutions would be for those students who are academically slower than others or children with disabilities.
Pertaining to transportation, the experienced educator said that was a major issue that needed attention.
“We waste too many resources on transporting students too far away from their homes to attend one school or another. This also exposes too many of our children to unsavoury and predatory characters in their travels – the van stand, drug pushers and sexual predators,” Broomes said.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued on Friday, Anthony Wood, a former education minister in a Barbados Labour Party administration, said that some of the proposed measures were not new but leaders over the years had delayed their implementation.
He said the proposed introduction of specialist teachers and master teachers has been discussed for many years as well as some of the proposals regarding pre-primary and primary education.
“Most of the measures at the pre-primary and primary levels, excluding the new transition exam from primary to secondary levels and preparatory measures for this exam, have been discussed previously, and all of them can be adopted within the current structure of the education system,” he said.
“Their delayed infusion into the system is a result of financial resource constraints, planning inertia, and the implementation deficit syndrome pervading the Ministry of Education and the Government of Barbados. The slew of measures is not controversial and should not await the proposed date of September 2025 for commencement of their implementation,” Wood contended.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
