BUT head makes multiple demands for education transformation

By Sheria Brathwaite

The head of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) has laid down the gauntlet to the Mia Mottley administration ahead of the planned transformation of the secondary school entrance system, urging a range of fixes from smaller class sizes and curriculum reform to better bus and Internet connections.

The Barbados Scholarship should extend to technical and vocational education and training awards, Rudy Lovell also suggested as he unveiled a laundry list of items for the ministry’s attention.  

He called for training for all nursery school teachers and aunties and a greater focus on numeracy and literacy in primary schools. More social workers and psychologists were needed throughout the school system, the union leader added.

He said he also wants the Ministry of Education to use the research done by teachers in the classroom.

“These represent some of the issues education officials need to get right as they embark on the education reform initiative,” he said on Wednesday night at the John Cumberbatch Memorial Lecture at the Radisson Aquatica Resort.  “If the Ministry of Education gets these things right, the implementation of this reform process may be made easier. 

“There should be an equal number of scholarships for technical and vocational students as is offered to those pursuing the traditional academic subjects. There also needs to be a push to integrate more culturally relevant literature into our education system.

“All nursery school teachers and aunties need to be trained in early childhood education, including those in the government nurseries. Greater resources and personnel in special needs education and smaller class sizes are also needed. Curriculum reform should be one of the first rungs of the ladder for education reform. We need to create new curricula to replace those in draft forms since the year 2000 and there should be a greater focus on numeracy and literacy in primary schools.”

Lovell told the audience that the Ministry of Education must also resolve issues relating to training and redeployment of teachers.

He continued: “The method of transitioning students across the school system and the assessment and certification of students at both secondary and primary schools [should also be addressed]. There must be audits of physical and material resources in schools and the necessary upgrades provided. 

“Any review and upgrade of education legislation to enable the reform process to occur must involve teacher unions from start to finish.”

The BUT boss described as “woefully inadequate” the complement of social workers and psychologists across the school system.

He said: “Many students have social issues that teachers are not trained to address. However, teachers are expected to teach and address these issues all at the same time. We can reform the education system as much as we like unless we address the social issues affecting our students, education reform will be meaningless for many of them.”

Declaring the negative effect of poor school transport on children, Lovell said: “There needs to be an improved school bus service to take students to and from school on time. Students should not have to wait four hours to get to or from school. The inability of students to get to school early contributes to learning loss.

Stressing that education transformation’s success depends on the critical role that teachers play, the BUT president suggested the process should be informed by action research done by teachers in our classrooms. 

“Smart classrooms and teacher-friendly facilities need to be areas of focus. There also needs to be proper functioning Internet connectivity in every Barbadian school,” he said.

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb