“Growth is an erratic forward movement: two steps forward, one step back. Remember that and be very gentle with yourself.”
– Julia Cameron
Plans to transform Barbados’ educational system through a dramatic alteration to the way we transfer children from primary to secondary schools and the introduction of schools of excellence and junior colleges represent change that some welcome and others reject.
There is no denying that some changes are required to our school system and those adjustments need to be radical.
Students will tell you their biggest challenge is not necessarily the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE), commonly referred to as the 11-Plus Exam.
Their grouses are with the negative public perception of some schools, which is built on authorities’ glorification of some institutions and the denigration of others. They are concerned about the instruction methods of their teachers, the adequacy of the current curriculum, the lack of excitement in the teaching and learning process, and whether it is really preparing them for their personal and the national development goals.
While the Ministry of Education has faced significant criticism over its planned reforms, the administration must be commended for accepting that the local system cannot be stagnant while critical changes are occurring in almost every aspect of our lives.
One of the most significant planned changes is the introduction of junior colleges. This concept has faced the fiercest pushback not only from teachers and parents but from students.
Teachers and parents view the plan as disruptive, the timeline too radical, and the benefits of such an introduction still not fully defined and accepted.
At a time when the cost of living is through the roof, parents are factoring in the expenses associated with the likelihood of having to switch schools after three years in one school, while children are concerned about the sudden end to friendships and bonds right before preparation for critical examinations.
Students have reasonably asked whether they will still be expected to write Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exams such as the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and if they are, how will the junior colleges advance this cause.
At the most recent public engagement session longstanding educator and trade unionist The Most Honourable Patrick Frost issued an ominous warning about the junior colleges which are a feature of the United States of America education system.
“You are putting pupils at a particular age when they are most dangerous to themselves; you are putting them in the hands of teachers who would have to deal with discipline and other problems . . . that’s a recipe for disaster.”
Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw, in her defence of the shift, indicated that “what the Ministry of Education was proposing would be tailor-made for students between the ages of 11 and 14 years old”.
It will be a “programme that has a heavy emphasis on teaching those children values and skills so that at the end of the third form level, these children would have had a level of exposure that fortifies them to be able to make a decision with regard to areas of specialisation”.
She also listed some of the areas these children will be taught, such as financial literacy, and indicated there would be career guidance, while teacher-student ratios will be reduced.
In the mix, however, are matters of the cost of this transformation. That answer remains elusive. Teachers want to know how all this will impact them and of course, children do not want to be guinea pigs and want the ministry to get it right before throwing them into the mix.
Our greatest hope is that the planned changes to the education system will expand the opportunities for more of our students, a large number of whom are leaving school with inadequate or no certification.
Thus, this transformation has to be radically beneficial and not a vanity project of anyone who wants to add their name to the history books.
