Minister of Education and Human Resource Development, Ronald Jones, is urging Barbadians to be active participants in the formulation of a new education policy.
Speaking at the launch of a series of town hall meetings convened by the Ministry of Education’s reconstitutued National Advisory Committee on Education, Mr. Jones stressed that “the meetings are not just a forum for persons directly involved in education, but an opportunity for all Barbadians to have a say in the direction Barbados is going as it relates to education.”
He told the gathering at Deighton Griffith School that his Ministry wanted all Barbadians to have the opportunity to express their views.
“Democracy demands that we come to the people… is an opportunity for you to speak and be heard… to help inform policy,” he stressed.
The meeting saw a range of topics being discussed, including violence in schools, co-education, the common entrance exam and zoning. The Minister urged participants not to see the town hall meetings as a “forum for criticism… but a chance to say how education in Barbados can best benefit them and their children.”
The next town hall meeting is scheduled to take place tomorrow, Tuesday, April 22, at the Ellerslie Secondary School, Black Rock, St Michael, starting at 7:00 p.m.