Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Kay McConney, believes that a holistic approach must be taken as the education transformation journey continues.
In response to the results of the 2024 Barbados Secondary Schools Entrance Examination (BSSEE), Ms. McConney said capacity building within the education system is not just for institutions but for the people who exist within the system, namely the teachers, school leaders, the education officers, and general administrators of education.
She stated that the regulatory framework and the environment that govern the wider education sector must be strengthened.
“I say all that against the background of these results because I think if we’ve listened to what the numbers are telling us, … what the teachers are telling us, when we listen to what the principals are telling us, we have to do things differently…to ensure that every child has a fighting chance at a bright future within our system.”
With the goal of transformation at the fore, Minister McConney stated that the work to rebuild the education system as a whole had already begun. “We have already begun the implementation of the transformation in curriculum, coding and robotics, the civics curriculum, and there’s been a pilot for digital literacy.
“Additionally, curriculum review, in subjects such as Mathematics, English, Science, and Civics at the primary level, that is scheduled to commence in August of this year, and at the secondary level, heavy emphasis will be placed on continuing coding and robotics, animation, digital literacy and gaming, helping to prepare our children for the future of work in this world.”
While reviewing the breakdown of the statistics for the BSSEE, Ms. McConney noted that the national mean for Mathematics this year was 54.62, as compared to 59.2 last year, and the national mean for English in 2024 was 65.2, as compared to 69.5 in 2023.
She said the Ministry would analyse the specific areas where the students had the greatest challenges so that it could target how it intervenes, improves the quality of instruction, and how the particular needs of students are addressed in those isolated areas.
She added that it’s not just about having the overall scores, but also about understanding the specific areas within each exam that created the greatest challenges so that the necessary work could be done.
Ms. McConney acknowledged that education is not just about academic subjects. She said a holistic approach to educating the nation’s children is required, and a need for children to acquire better understanding and knowledge.
She noted that attitudes and skills must be improved, as well as their ability to get along at the social, emotional, and interpersonal relationship levels.
“All of these must be part of what we do. So, it’s not just about what you learn in the books, but … how you will be able to govern yourself within a school environment so that all can benefit from what is there,” she added.
The Education Minister also mentioned the Centre of Excellence in Early Childhood Care and Development, which is scheduled to commence in September of this year. She pointed out that this school will become the hub for best practices in pre-primary education and will provide a cutting-edge environment where students can play, learn, and grow at that early stage, from ages three to five.
According to Ms. McConney, the hub would help the Ministry to ensure that the children across the island are better prepared for primary education because it would have built a more solid foundation earlier in their educational journey.