Dominica following Barbados’ lead, says Skerrit

Dominica is turning to Barbados as a model for advancing its own education reform.

So says its Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, who praised the island’s transformation of its education system during his address over the weekend at the Barbados Labour Party’s 86th Annual Conference.

“I look at Barbados and see a country reshaping spaces, systems and expectations so that your children graduate not only as leavers, but as leaders… I am taking notes of your education transformation here in Barbados,” Skerrit said.

Skerrit said this was of significance to him on a personal level as his passion was teaching before entering politics.

“Before I became Prime Minister, I was a teacher. I served as Minister of Education, and those who know me well know that education is my passion.

“Education at its best asks who will this child become? What kind of citizen? What kind of creator and what kind of leader? Some of the jobs our children will do have not been invented yet. The tools they will use are still being built. That is why transformation is a survival kit,” Skerrit noted.

Skerrit acknowledged that Caribbean students needed the right tools to ensure they were not left behind in a world that continues to be driven by technology.

“We do not educate to fill timetables. We educate to fill tomorrows,” he declared, urging delegates to support Barbados’ reform efforts and hinting at similar ambitions for Dominica.

His comments come as Barbados’ education system undergoes its most significant changes in generations under the new Ministry of Educational Transformation.

In August 2025, the ministry announced plans to replace the decades old class and form system with a “grade” structure from 2026, converting Infant A and B into Grades 1 and 2, and re‑designating Forms 1–5 as Grades 7–11.

Further reforms announced by Education Minister Chad Blackman encompass five strategic goals: raising student achievement; empowering educators; modernising physical and digital environments; strengthening the ministry’s internal operations; and overhauling legislative policy frameworks.

Blackman said change was necessary to prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s world.

(SZB)