The Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development is responding aggressively to the continuous decline in the number of young males entering post secondary institutions in Barbados.
In light of this, it will be staging a Student Summit for male fifth form students of all secondary schools, on Tuesday, March 15, at Kensington Oval, from 10.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. Officials will be on hand to collect data and engage male seniors in secondary schools in order to try to reverse any negative trends. Morning sessions will feature small group dialogue, while the evening segment will see interaction with tertiary institutions, whose booths will be on display.
The summit is expected to be the first in a number of initiatives to redress the imbalance of male entry to post secondary educational institutions. According to an official from the Ministry, "this trend has implications for the social fabric of our nation and has been persisting for more than a decade. The Ministry of Education is committed to addressing this matter and in so doing ameliorate the impact which it is already having on our community. "
A committee will plan a programme for the next two calendar years as means to redress the growing gender disparity in the admissions demand in our post secondary institutions. Solutions may lead to actions to be taken at both the primary and secondary levels.
Transport Board buses will bring students from their schools to Kensington Oval for 10:00 a.m. and then return them home along existing routes. Buses will traverse school compounds on the return routes, where needed.
In addition, a career interest assessment will be done to determine demand profiles for post secondary programme planning. For further information persons are advised to call the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development at 310-4050. Application/Information packages will be available to all students.