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| Education Minister, Ronald Jones. (FP) |
Students preparing for the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE) are "stepping up to the plate".
This was underscored by Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ronald Jones, during a press conference earlier today at the Ministry’s Constitution Road, St. Michael office, to discuss the results for this year’s BSSEE.
Noting, however, that there was a need for students to apply themselves more to their studies, Minister Jones affirmed: "Yes, you are stepping up, but you have to apply yourself to the task ahead.
Learning does not simply take place in Class Four, neither does it simply take place in Class Three, or Class Two or Class One, it is a continuous process from the home to the school, right through the educational system."
The Education Minister emphasised that the "readiness" needed for the May examination could not be achieved within a few months, but must be "a continuous process with parents or guardians paying attention to the work of students."
He also urged parents and guardians to show an interest in extracurricular activities in areas such as the arts and athletics. "…It is a holistic education that must be looked at. I know persons tend to focus a bit on just the academic, but the holistic child is the child that we want to see emerging from our education system. The holistic student is what we want to see. So let us have that commitment by the parents and guardians, let us have that commitment by our schools, to lift the overall standard of education in Barbados," Minister Jones said.
??Meanwhile, Chief Education Officer, Laurie King, maintained that the Ministry was continually committed to ensuring quality education for this island’s students.
He explained that papers from each student who sat the BSSEE was analysed, and stated: "We will over the next few weeks be taking a closer look at that analysis, with the view of determining and defining the kind of interventions that might be necessary."
Pointing out that each analysis would identify the strengths and weaknesses of each individual school and each individual student, in terms of performance, Mr. King noted that the Ministry would "take a holistic approach to providing some intervention to address areas where there may be some semblance of weaknesses and [would] capitalise on the strengths as identified by that analysis."