Free National Movement deputy leader Brent Symonette said the education system in The Bahamas is failing, and blamed the government for not doing anything to improve it.
“I feel sure, therefore, that when the Ministry of Education released its newspaper supplement this month, ‘Report on Achievement 2004 – 2005, under the theme Transforming Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century,’ that many who read it asked the same question that I did: What achievement?”
“I smiled when I looked at the cover page showing the new building for that Ministry – a new building built by the caring hands of the FNM. And as I turned the 32-page supplement, I was saddened by the lack of educational achievement since May 2002.”
However, Minister of Education Alfred Sears told The Guardian that there had been numerous programs implemented in New Providence and the Family Islands to improve the nation’s education system. He pointed to improvements to school buildings nationwide as well as the reduction of class sizes to facilitate learning. He added that the ministry was also moving the educational system towards e-learning.
The ministry currently has a contract with the Japanese electronic company, Fujitsu to install computers into primary schools, to link the entire system into a network and to provide instructional software for the teaching of language, arts and math.
Mr Sears also said his ministry was focussing on providing affordable pre-school opportunities for children. The aim is to provide early learning to children of parents from poor socio-economic backgrounds, who are unable to afford to take their children to private preschools with trained teachers.
The education minister further noted that through the government’s national education reform, special education now operates as an integral part of The Bahamas’ education system, giving students with special needs the ability to maximise their educational potential and ultimately live productive lives.
Mr Symonette, however, said the increase in school violence was preventing students from achieving a quality education.
He argued that the government was clearly unable to solve the crime-related issues in the schools, as it was sending young, inexperienced police officers to the campuses.
Last April, Prime Minister Perry Christie asked Commissioner of Police Paul Farquharson to integrate the police force into the public school system to help address some of the problems associated with youth violence.
Mr Christie made the announcement days after a 15-year-old C.V. Bethel Senior High School student was stabbed to death allegedly by another student.
There was also an outbreak of violence reported at the Government High School on the same day.
However, Chief Superint-endent Juanita Colebrooke, responsible for the school policing programme, said there had been a decrease in school violence as a result of police presence in the public high schools.
But Mr Symonette asked, “Why should schools require police presence daily unless their system has broken down?”
Mrs Colebrook said the government was not responsible for the problem, adding, “Parents are really responsible for their children and they should be involved in dealing with them and knowing what’s happening with them in school.”
Mr Symonette noted that despite school problems, he was proud of the thousands of educators, janitorial and security staff in the public schools who are dedicated to excellence and share a bold spirit of commitment to education.
By: MINDELL SMALL, The Nassau Guardian
