#BTColumn – Transforming education is not tearing it down, Mr Thorne

There is no doubt that educational reform in Barbados that is of a structural and fundamental nature, and not merely cosmetic, will annoy a small section of Barbadian society. When it comes to educational change or transformation, there is always this recourse to a colonial legacy that has benefitted the few, rather than the broad masses of Barbadian people. In all post-colonial countries, Barbados being no exception, educational change has become inevitable in order to realise the full potential of all its citizens and not only the fortunate few.

In Barbados, the remnants of colonialism still impact negatively on our politics, our culture, our economy and generally our habits and thoughts. It is unthinkable that one can consider the government’s proposals for educational reform as “a tearing down of the entire education system” – emotive language that readily appeals to those who are intent on maintaining the status quo, those who believe that the legacy of Harrison College should ever be the legacy of the educational system of Barbados. In light of Ralph Thorne’s remarks, I will comment on two proposals in the education transformation programme which seem certain to be implemented – the abolition of the Common Entrance Examination and universal early childhood education.

One of the greatest evils of the Barbados educational system is the Common Entrance Examination. Most writers (academics) on educational systems within the Caribbean have constantly pointed to the continuing influence of British educational practices lingering in our system. One such practice is the Common Entrance Examination. It is retained because it suits a few upper and middle-class blacks who seem to want to hold on forever to the classism that separates them from the rest of Barbadian society.

Where else, but in Barbados, would one be satisfied with a system that discriminates among its youth by continuing to allocate children to schools based purely on marks? The present situation is that those with between 80 and 100 per cent are eligible for at least three of our top secondary schools and the rest find themselves at the very predictable low-performing secondary schools – that is, academically.

The stark reality is that the secondary system is ruthlessly divided between the academics and those others, equally talented, but not sufficiently recognised in our system. Reviewing developments in education in Barbados over the last 40 years or so, one cannot help but witness the tremendous contributions that have been made and are being made by the graduates of the once newer secondary schools. I have recently congratulated a niece of mine who went to Ellerslie Secondary, then proceeded to UWI, Cave Hill, and has since graduated from a British university with a master’s degree. Yet, there was a survey at Dodds Prison, I was informed some time ago, where many if not all of the inmates were from the once newer secondary schools.

It is within this context that I fully support the BLP administration abolishing the Common Entrance Examination. There should be, after primary education, a seamless continuing movement of children into secondary education. All of our secondary schools should be capable of teaching children with a range of aptitudes. The curriculum should be so structured that it encompasses individuals of multiple abilities. Teachers’ training should include a basic course in child development/child psychology to be able to manage children.

It is at the secondary level where all schools should be classified as schools of excellence. Children leaving primary schools should not be inhibited from attending schools in their communities or within easy reach of their homes. Gone should be the days when a child living in Six Roads, a stone’s throw from Princess Margaret Secondary School, should be forced to trek to the Alleyne School in St Andrew. Gone also should be the days when children, often unwittingly by their parents’ influence, become saddened and disappointed when their names are called to enter some secondary schools.

And as Alwyn Adams, a former principal of St Leonard’s Boys’ School and Coleridge and Parry School, reminded an audience at an interactive session on education at the Holetown Festival, there is no evidence to show that in England or elsewhere there has been a fall-off in educational standards when examinations such as the Common Entrance Exam were abolished. This rather evidence-based statistic is sufficient to assure Barbadians that the abolition of the examination is nothing to be feared.

Within the context of the government’s educational transformation, Minister [of Education Kay] McConney recently indicated at a branch meeting of her party that the expansion of early childhood education is a top priority on her agenda. Barbados should have achieved universal early childhood education years ago. This was a proposal when the present prime minister was minister of education. It is important that early childhood education not only be available to those who can afford it. While there is some provision at the public level for this kind of education, there are still many poor, unemployed, labouring class persons who are without this access.

Every Barbadian child between the ages of three and five should be a participant in the early childhood education programme. Dr Garry Hornby, who was a consultant to the Barbados government on special education, reminded the Holetown educational session of the importance of having children at the tenderest age facilitated within an educational environment. This early intervention will ensure very positive progress in the educational development of the child.

My reference to the government’s early childhood programme is to demonstrate that the transformation in education is a lot more than the abolition of the Common Entrance Examination. It is also about ensuring that the entire childhood population is guaranteed a place in an expanded nursery programme. However, it is foremost about transforming an educational system to meet the social, economic and political needs of all Barbadians. This approach to educational change cannot be misconstrued as “dismantling” or “tearing down”.

The continuing transformation debate on education should not be so acrimonious that it reminds us of the late 1960s when the Barbados Community College was being established. The fear was that the revered colonial institutions would lose their sixth forms to form the American-styled BCC. The colonial apparition still seems to haunt Barbadians.

Dr Dan C. Carter is an educational historian. He is the author of ‘A History of Early Childhood Education: The Barbadian Experience’.