A local businessman and former educator yesterday blamed a “deficient educational system” for the national “D” average recorded by students taking the Bahamas General Certificate in Secondary Education (BGCSE) examination.
Speaking at the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Lucaya, Calvin Kemp urged Rotarians to look at the purpose for which the BGCSE examination was established and to see for themselves if it is being properly applied by education authorities.
In times past, he said, Bahamians fortunate enough to attend high school were required to sit an external examination prepared and marked by certain British universities such as Cambridge or London. The primary purpose of these examinations was to determine whether a student had matriculated or had met the academic qualifications to enter university.
Mr. Kemp noted that with the assistance of at least one of these same British universities, the Ministry of Education established the BGCSE to replace these external examinations.
He said it is important to know that many years ago, the British observed that only five percent (or one in 20) of their student population would qualify for admission to university.
That small group would go on to become professionals such as doctors, lawyers, engineers etc., while the majority of their population – the other 19 of the 20 – would be trained to become craftsmen, tradesmen and technicians such as carpenters, masons, plumbers, electricians, mechanics, etc.
On the basis of that observation, the British instituted a policy that when their young people reached 11 years of age, they were required to take a written exam which allowed the government to determine whether they fit into the five percent of the student population which were academically inclined so that they could be directed toward leading professions via university education.
But if they fit in with the other 95 percent of the student population with an aptitude for the pursuit of a vocation, they would be sent to a vocational school, where they would be trained to become craftsmen or tradesmen.
“If the BGCSE is in fact a replacement for the external examinations previously prepared and marked by universities such as Cambridge and London and if – as we have suggested – the primary purpose of this examination is to determine whether a student qualifies for entrance into a university, then the BGCSE may not be a proper measure, generally speaking, of our success or failure in the field of education,” Mr. Kemp said. “I have come to believe that, for the most part, neither the students or teachers are at fault. In fact, I believe that it is the system which has failed both the teachers and students.”
Mr. Kemp said in The Bahamas, high school students are forced to spend their time preparing for an exam which is designed to qualify them for admission to university.
“Then we act surprised when they fail,” he said. ” We should expect them to fail, especially when we realise that in Great Britain only five percent of their student population are allowed to even prepare for those examinations. The other 95 percent are too busy learning the vocational and technical skills they need to survive.”
Mr. Kemp said the majority of high school graduates who are fortunate enough to go on to colleges and universities abroad usually attend institutions in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
“I suggest to you that in the United States and Canada, the same kind of logic applies and we can be sure that even in those countries, less than 10 percent of their young people are interested in going to college and, therefore, only that relatively small group would bother to take the SAT examinations each year,” he said.
“I would further suggest that neither the United States nor Canada would waste time and national resources preparing all of their young people for admission to university while ignoring the needs of their major industries and their other enterprises which require millions of workers with vocational training, and where the vast majority of their people would eventually be employed.
“The sad truth is that we have, with horrible unconcern, watched our children being forced to participate in a so-called educational programme, the primary purpose of which is to prepare them for entrance into a university, an objective completely unsuited to the needs of most of them, and we pretend to be shocked when they come out of these schools filled with rage and frustration because they have no marketable skills and, therefore, cannot find a job.”
Mr. Kemp told Rotarians that what is needed is a comprehensive national educational plan designed to produce a majority of high school graduates with an ability to begin earning a living the minute they walk out of those school doors. This programme will produce young men and women who would come out of school ready, willing and able to enter the job market.
The local businessman said what he finds most frustrating is the fact that the government spends an extraordinary amount of time and effort wooing foreign investors who come with proposals for huge development projects costing hundreds of millions of dollars and utilizing thousands of acres of Bahamian land. Yet, no serious effort is made to train young people to benefit from the jobs being created by these extraordinary efforts.
“Now, since we have examined the educational system that we have in place and have noticed its deficiencies in addressing the basic needs of our young people and the employment needs of this country, I believe it is time for us to look at the kind of educational programme that we should have, if this country is to make the kind of progress which would allow all of its people to achieve their full potential,” Mr. Kemp said.
Mr. Kemp said he believes a Bahamas Technical Vocational Training (BTVI) facility should be placed on every island in The Bahamas to achieve this.
By LISA S. KING, Freeport News Asst. Editor
