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FTC: Managing Energy Cost

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It is estimated that the cost of electricity has doubled in Barbados since 2008. We are curious about the process of sourcing Bunker C to fuel Barbados Light & Power (BL&P) generators. How are the generators which use Bunker C integrated into the distribution of electricity to the benefit of the consumer? How has the price of Bunker C trended since 2008 and have Barbadians consumers benefited?

BU fully supports government’s strategy to diversify energy needs BUT in the migration process we should hold BL&P accountable. It is not lost on BU that BL&P appears to be playing a ‘leading’ role in the alternative energy debate. This makes BU very uncomfortable given an obvious vested interest.  In this regard – is the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) a failed organization?

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  1. St George's Dragon Avatar
    St George’s Dragon

    Fuel clause adjustment subsidy? Fuel is paid for separately in your bill but its a straight pass-through of the cost, as far as I am aware.

  2. David Avatar
    David

    See BL&P website, BU is always willing to admit wrong.

    “At present, the Fuel Clause Adjustment for Domestic and General Service customers continues to be subsidized by Government. This subsidy is designed to stabilize the electricity price that residential customers pay and it remains at 23.5375 cents per kWh, the same level as in October 2007.

    http://www.blpc.com.bb/watts_Display.cfm?ID=42“

  3. akonu Avatar
    akonu

    The rising Oil Import Bill ($787 million) will eventually sink Barbados.
    STOP THE BLAME GAME.
    Barbadians need to change their habits :
    -everyone wants the largest SUV that consumes excess gas
    – many homes have two cars
    – many homes still using incandescent bulbs
    – only a few smart Barbadians made the switch to solar power / alternative energy
    – what about all the fuel wasted in motor sports
    – only a few smart Barbadians have hybrid vehicles
    – when buying a refrigerator / washing machines most Barbadians look for the biggest appliances not the most energy efficient
    – Barbadians buy the biggest plasma televisions because it is in fashion , but if they did the research on plasma they would understand why they are sold cheap

    Barbadian are more interested in keeping up with the latest style / trends in America even if it is detrimental to us . Many of the decisions we make are not based on sound judgement ,

  4. Paradox Avatar
    Paradox

    We should lay the blame squarely where it should be; firmly on the shoulders of the government. All we get is talk, talk, talk.
    Government states:
    ‘We are looking at this project, we are going to set up a pilot scheme of this and that.’
    ‘Minister ‘this’ has gone to Japan to look at this and that!’
    ‘We are spending this amount of money on imported fuel and must look at ways to reduce our import bill…’
    What is the reason government hasn’t taken the bull by the horn and lead from the front by installing solar on all government buildings?
    What is the reason reduced subsides are not made available to the public to install solar panels on their roof tops? Is it money?
    Is there a reason why water-pumps at every pumping station are not using solar to pump water?
    An article in a leading newspaper some time ago, stated, air-conditioning units were to be brought in from Trinidad.What has happened to them?
    With the amount of sunshine at our disposal, every street-light should be using solar to power them.
    None of above are new. They have been tried and tested in other countries,some with much less sunlight than ours.

    AKONU: touch on motor vehicles.
    Little or no attention is given to encourage the public to buy hybrid vehicles. Hybrid vehicles are not advertised to the public.They are expensive and are not suited to the state of the roads.
    Incandescent bulbs are cheaper to buy than energy savings. In some countries, all incandescent bulbs have been phased out, so anyone who wants to replace a bulb must buy an energy saving bulb.
    We learned from medics of the vast increased in asthma cases; but if vehicles were serviced at regular intervals, it could help improve the health of many and also improve MILES-PER-GALLON on every vehicle.
    Government buses are some of the worse polluters and many SUV’s are government own.
    An article in a leading newspaper by one well know businessman , stated, ‘there is enough sunshine to provide all the energy needs for every building in Barbados.’
    What is holding back the government?
    Is it lack of money or is it pressure from BL&P not to go the route which would benefit all householders?
    We are aware BL&P is the only provider of electricity in Barbados and the major or only shareholder of BL&P.
    We elected the government to lead.

  5. Colonel Buggy. Avatar
    Colonel Buggy.

    @Akonu. – what about all the fuel wasted in motor sports
    …………………………………………………………………………………….
    And who pays for this wasted motor sports fuel?,not the mention the expensive cars. Certainly the directors and shareholders of those companies which sponsor motor sports, do not dip into their precious profits and dividends to support this sport. We the consumers and customers have to contribute unwillingly towards this sport by way of jacked up prices, every time we do business at one of these sponsors. But we seem to like it so ,.as we go out in full blast and jump up behind the performing car.

    @ Paradox.Hybrid vehicles are not advertised to the public.They are expensive and are not suited to the state of the roads.
    ………………………………………………………………………..
    Spot on. I had a look at some medium duty hybrids a few years ago at an expo in the States,and the first thing that struck me is that given the awful state of our roads, those very heavy battery stands would quickly be shaken adrift.
    Unfortunately in Barbados, one of the measures adopted by vehicle owners, including the government, to cut the running cost of their vehicles is to skimp on routine servicing and preventive maintenance.
    On the subject of Asthma and pollution
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2297113/Traffic-pollution-causes-childhood-asthma-passive-smoking.html

  6. St George's Dragon Avatar
    St George’s Dragon

    From the recent FTC consultation paper on the FCA:
    “The FCA is used by electric utilities to respond to fuel cost uncertainties. It is a direct pass through charge whereby the customers are required to pay for the portion of fuel related to their consumption.”
    Elsewhere in the report:
    “As the FCA is a direct pass through charge, this means that customers have experienced sustained increases in their electricity bills.”
    I believe there used to be a subsidy but not anymore.

  7. akonu Avatar
    akonu

    Barbados current have tax incentives for solar/ alternative energy applied to the home.

    Generally ,the larger the screen size of a TV the higher the energy consumption/ operational cost . Does the average consumer know this
    According to the Wall Street Journal, a 42-inch plasma set can consume more electricity than a full-size refrigerator — even when that TV is used only a few hours a day.
    A Plasma TV consume significantly more power than a LCD or LED TV .
    LEDs use even less energy than LCDs because the source of light, a LED, is more efficient compared to a CCFL ( compact fluorescent light ).
    Barbadian consumers need to do their homework before buying appliances ,etc.

    @Paradox –
    Do not be penny wish and pound foolish.
    Quote :
    Compared to general-service incandescent lamps giving the same amount of visible light, CFLs (compact fluorescent lights ) use one-fifth to one-third the electric power, and last eight to fifteen times longer. A CFL has a higher purchase price than an incandescent lamp, but can save over five times its purchase price in electricity costs over the lamp’s lifetime.
    -Compact fluorescent lamp
    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia .

    Quote :
    Governments around the world have passed measures to phase out incandescent light bulbs for general lighting, to encourage the use of more energy-efficient lighting alternatives. Phase-out regulations effectively ban the manufacture, importation or sale of current incandescent light bulbs for general lighting. The regulations would allow sale of future versions of incandescent bulbs if they are sufficiently energy efficient.
    Brazil and Venezuela started the phase-out in 2005,[1] and the European Union, Switzerland,[2] and Australia[3] started to phase them out in 2009.[4] Likewise, other nations are implementing new energy standards or have scheduled phase-outs: Argentina,[5] Russia, and Canada in 2012,[6] and the United States and Malaysia in 2014 .
    – Phase-out of incandescent light bulbs
    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

    When will Barbados see the light.

  8. akonu Avatar
    akonu

    @ Paradox – Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish.

    Quote:
    In Barbados, property owners that factor in certain green features into their properties can benefit from tax incentives designed to encourage green construction practices. Individuals can claim a maximum of BB$10,000 per year for up to five years, while registered businesses can claim up to BB$25,000 per year for five years. Saving the environment while saving money is simply a good business move for property owners.

    A highly effective way for property owners to ‘go green’ is through the use of photovoltaic array systems which use solar panels to convert sunlight into usable electricity which, in turn, can provide significant benefits. While photovoltaic array systems can initially be costly, they are generally considered to be sound investments, as properties with these systems generally retain higher market values than those without.
    -Green Tax Incentives for Homeowners
    by First Citizens
    12 April 2013.

  9. David Avatar
    David

    Thanks Dragon.

  10. idiotkurt Avatar
    idiotkurt

    BL&P will continue playing leading role in the alternative energy debate a confict that should make us uncomfortable,,providing you were paying attention. Venezuela has cheap alternative to bunker-c by-the-way, but who cares!!!

  11. David Avatar
    David

    Do we even know where the BL&P procures its Bunker C?

    Also it has be stated that government is responsible for 60% plus of energy supplied by BL&P. If this is true there must be an appreciable dent in government’s consumption at the GAIA, Barbados Water Authority etc.

  12. Adrian Loveridge Avatar
    Adrian Loveridge

    David,
    so am I right in thinking that ONLY ‘residential customers received ANY subsidy at all? Surely, BL&P can disclose the price per tonne they are paying for Bunker C now and what they were paying in 2008?

  13. David Avatar
    David

    @Adrian

    See St. Georges Dragon latest comment.

    http://bajan.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/ftc-managing-energy-cost/comment-page-1/#comment-792750

  14. The People's Democratic Congress Avatar
    The People’s Democratic Congress

    It is a great degree of satisfaction for the PDC to see that in the Sunday Sun, May 6, 2013, a news story under the main caption: NO WORD, and under the by line: CXC waiting on Barbados as other islands scrap 11 plus, that the regional examinations body, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has, “at the request of” the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, devised a CXC Primary Exam Assessment (CPEA) for primary school pupils of certain territories of this grouping.

    The news story goes on to say, et al, that “the governments of Grenada, Anguilla, St. VIncent and the Grenadines, Dominica, and St. Lucia have REPLACED (our capitals for our own emphasis) the Common Entrance with the CPEA while Guyana was actively considering following suit”.

    The fact that the Sunday Sun so sweetly timed this brilliant article with the examination coming on the following Tuesday (yesterday), shows 1) that with strong purposeful leadership how regionalism can work in the sense of the CXC responding yet again to another challenge within the education sector of the CARICOM sub-region with the provision of a welcome partial possible/solution;

    2) how regional cooperation has a better record in certain practical and functional areas than in many nonfunctional areas, and outside of certain essentially regional non-CARICOM provinces than inside of certain other strictly regional CARICOM provinces;

    3) points out how the OECS is a far more progressive unified grouping of countries on yet another front than CARICOM is;

    4) and does show up these BLP/DLP governments of Barbados as more isolated and isolationalist (evidence by discussions going on but no decision taken yet – re the CPEA matter) on many regional fronts than ever before in this post independence era, and as backward and as inept as these alternating governments could ever be on this long running vexxed issue of the Common Entrance Exam.

    For so long in this country many citizens (Mr David Comissiong, Mr Orlando Marville et al) have been rightfully calling upon the government of Barbados to abolish this very backward outdated irrelevant inadequate unfair Common Entrance Examination mechanism. We too in the PDC have been saying in many of our public commentaries and pronouncements that it must go, and be replaced with a national continuous assessment program whereby pupils at the primary level (ages 7 to 11) and students at the secondary level ( ages 11 to 14) of the school system of Barbados are properly assessed evaluated for a wider range of life academic technical aptitudes skills over a longer period of time than the very narrow range of those things that are done in the Common Entrance Examination, and the shorter time that is used to prepare for the exam itself; and yes such a mechanism with a view of moulding these younger persons for their lives ahead in an increasingly competitive and complex materialist consumerist technologically driven globalized environment.

    So, as thousands of children would have gone to the various examination centres across the country to be tested for Maths, English and English Composition in the CEE yesterday, having been academically prepared, psychologically conditioned and socially groomed by their parents, guardians, relatives, friends, teachers, over time for it, the Ministry of Education will have the opportunity again to use the CEE as a basis for realizing the objective of simply most disgustingly however finding places for these particular pupils in the secondary school system (of course parents/guardians, to a greater extent, and many pupils, to a lesser extent, have some say in choosing which schools they prefer the pupils themselves to go to) based on a sub-system of marks and grades, rather than on putting much energy and focus on establishing a serious system of transfer (from primary to secondary school) that facilitates the further development of the life social academic technical skills and abilities of the pupils in tandem with the specific but various aspirations and desires of these younger persons.

    Finally, as another cycle of CEE exams have come and gone the country will continue at least for one of the last times scarred and despoiled by an examination that has been still another example of those numerous old antiquated ineffectual ideas, approaches and systems that remain within the Barbadian society and that persons of older generations are desperately clinging onto even though their times have passed, at the expense of the putting in place of new modernistic effectual constructive ideas, approaches and systems by persons of the younger generations for the overall further development of this country.

    PDC

  15. David Avatar
    David

    BU is saying it it is in the interest of the local shareholders to come public. If Leroy Parris’ name continues to be tagged to CUL it will do nothing for goodwill.

  16. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ PDC
    Why don’t you see if ac will join your party? Wunna seem to see eye to eye when it comes to talking (shi… Oops) nonsense….

    The Common entrance exam is the single BEST aspect of the education system in Barbados. The results alone can verify this point…. Just check the shiite that people talk and you will see an almost direct corelation with their 11 plus exam marks.

    Wickham…. Low marks
    Farley…..low marks
    Now Jeff Broomes showing his CEE marks too…. LOL
    …what was your score again…?

    REPLACE IT WITH WHAT?!?!! ….a quiz on PDC manifesto?

    Can’t you see that all CXC is suggesting is that it be replaced with THEIR exam …..WHICH WILL DO THE SAME THING? ….except they will be charging the fees for both setting the exam AND correcting it?

    Do you remember that BEFORE CXC used to correct the exam the results were completed THE SAME NIGHT?…..by teachers who we pay ANYWAY?

    ….now we pay CXC, pay the teachers….and the results takes WEEKS. CXC is best known for leaking test papers…..

    1- The common entrance levels the playing field
    2- It identifies academic talent generally well
    3 – It is transparent
    4 – a Bushman’s daughter can (and has) come out on top
    5 – Parent have a CHOICE in the school they PREFER -even if it is in the furtherest parish.
    6 – it has worked for Barbados
    7 – NO ONE HAS EVER articulated anything half as good.

    The problems with education in Barbados are many and varied, BUT THE CEE is not one of them. Indeed, those principals who have been talking a lotta shiite on the subject are MUCH BIGGER obstacles to successful education results that is the CEE.

    Wunna losers should stop blaming the common entrance for wunna current state….unna was so from birth… All like now, the bright children done burst that exam and on their way to Crumpton Street and Husbands…. 🙂

  17. ac Avatar
    ac

    problem with people like u BUshTEA is that wunna very closed minded it woulde take wunna light years before wunna come to trhe realisation that wunna might be wrong. so wrong that u still looking for an invisible BBE to fix the problems of makind that they created. should i say cuckkoooo.. have a cuckkoo day…

  18. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Bushy……………i gotta tell ya, commonsense dictates that this 11+ has outlived it’s usefulness, it’s been used and abused and has not produced a single soul who can rid the island of eternal dependency on tourism……………..that says a lot. I dare you to show me one of them from HC, QC, cawmere or lodge who have that level of intelligence that can move the island away from total dependency on tourism and devise a new and efficient money earner for the island.

    As recently as 2007 or 2008 a member of the judiciary was able to pull strings to get their child into a so called ‘good’ school, just because they could………it’s now become an idiot’s test…………..to label the brightest and most intelligent the society has produced idiots because they are deemed nobodies………….how quickly you forget who is really running the island……….it’s definitely no one from the good, better or best schools, that says a lot. One of my relatives did not take the test and has emerged as one of the brightest minds coming out of barbados, did not do elementary school on the island, so it’s really moot whether you took the test or not, other islands are moving on and away from the test……….it only makes sense, time to move on……..

  19. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Bushy………..it says a lot about you when even AC is seeing the light………standardized testing will allow kids to understand better what course of studies or skills they would rather pursue, instead of having an antiquated relic of colonial divide and rule forever forced upon them, resulting in what you are witnessing on the island today.

    Give the kids a fighting chance to understand that there are no good schools and bad schools……..there is the ability to learn and make appropriate choices for one’s career path.

  20. Ping Pong Avatar
    Ping Pong

    @Well Well

    you have claimed that “there are no good and bad schools”. What does that mean? What are the schools then…just a set of buildings?

  21. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Ping……………..There are good students and bad students, good teachers and bad teachers…………there are schools that governments world wide pore more funding into than others resulting in a wider curriculum or a more diverse science lab, more up to date sporting facilities or a wider range of skills training, it is a matter of how much money is poured into the schools that you get the best results…………..how could a building for training your minds and storing vast amounts of knowledge in these minds be bad.

    The problem you get in barbados is when they attach a stigma to one group of schools, now where did that get them? who is running the country now….check out the PM, Minister of Finance, Minister of Education, etc, etc, we might have our personal opinions about them, but i can show you any amount of students from HC, QC, Cawmere or Lodge, lying on the streets, eating out of garbage cans, or in prison, some who are lawyers, doctors etc are also the lowest form of life……….time to give these kids an opportunity to realize their true potential instead of damaging their lives with an idiot’s test.

  22. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Did i mention Hartley Henry or Leroy Parris who are probably the two most powerful men in Barbados right now? that alone proves my point…………

  23. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    As a matter of policy, Bushie does not argue with women, however, the bushman would simply invite ac and/or well well to describe, in simple terms, their replacement for the CEE.

  24. ac Avatar
    ac

    first of all you must be going blind i know by now that your are senile after living to an over-ripe old age. now please show me where i commented on any thing to do with the education system on this page.You are certainly Bush wacked out of Your Mind BUSH TEA,

  25. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Bushy………why not follow the template that the other islands are now devising a tweak it to suit your system…………..i believe they said standardized testing, but i have not seen the format…………..don’t tell me after all these years we are intellectually unable to devise an educational system for our kids and move away from the colonial created system that England and other countries have banished so many years ago……………….it makes us look like we are unable to make informed decisions for our future generations…………

  26. Ping Pong Avatar
    Ping Pong

    Well Well

    If the school one goes to does not really matter why is there this fuss about the so called 11 plus exam? As long as Barbadians want to have a choice in determining which school their children attend and the Government agrees to allowing parents to express that choice, there will be a “common entrance” exam or some variant of such. No matter what assessment method is used the outcome will statistically be the same.

  27. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    LOL@ ac
    ..sorry sweetie, its just that Bushie tends to associate you with any kind of nonsense arguments on BU 🙂 … May or may not be senility….

    @ well well
    So you are saying that we should change the 11 plus because the other islands have changed theirs ….???!?
    LOL Ha Ha. Oh Shi*** muh belly!!
    You serious?!
    …you see why Bushie don’t argue with women now?
    ….Too much estrogen and emotion…

    @ Ping Pong
    Thanks son. You does make logic look SOOOO simple….

  28. David Avatar
    David

    Why do we always debate the 11+ issue based on emotion? Where are the reports which give conclusions/recommendations based on research?

  29. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Bushy……………..the fact is that over 50 years later you are still using a colonial created testing system that has been abolished by the country who created it from their system, again, a testing system that has been successfully manipulated in Barbados to the detriment of other kids.

    Why are you insisting on holding on to a system you did not create and you have not upgraded………………..i have personal proof that kids do not need a corrupt 11+ exam to be successful…………has anyone asked the other islands why they are moving away from it? this is not about bragging about which school your child is going to, this is about giving them the options they will need to make choices in a world that is changing. How are they going to compete if they are not prepared because people don’t see it necessary to give them more to work with………….i don’t know, i am glad i have no young relatives remaining on the island who has to endure a 50 year old testing system……………..yall can carry on smartly

  30. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Ping Pong…………if they would get rid of the exam there will be no such issue………….again, you did not create the exam, it was created for you post slavery……………..i see what Marley was saying now, brainwash education to make you the fool………………..

  31. David Avatar
    David

    You can’t say get rid of the exam if we don’t have a rational position for doing so. To say the UK got rid of it is a reason to force us to examine/evaluate but not to make a conclusion. Where is logical thought here.

  32. ac Avatar
    ac

    see what i mean anything that the bajan say is so ! no !room for disagreement or another point of view, the same ole shite talk going around in circles arriving at the same conclusions until one day when the inevitable happens and then they all in chorus shouts out WUH HAPPEN ! WUH took u so long add to that a long stupsee and back to business as usual . ..Sounds a lot like BUSHIE.
    This is the week in review of the bajan mentality.

  33. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    David………….there is a choice, you can get rid of it and upgrade or you can be the only island in the world with it and keep producing the crop of leaders you currently have who are questionable to say the least……………..then you will more than likely get stuck with the Parris, Henry, Jones, Inniss etc, etc, because there is nothing new to offer, there were no new upgrades from the primary school which acts as a foundation. As i said, i should care very little, cause i have no young relatives on the island who run the risk of being subjected to another 50 years of 11+, all my relatives have options and choices. Not to mention that Barbados will certainly look real dumb to be the only island to keep an outdated, 50 year old post slavery testing system.

  34. Ping Pong Avatar
    Ping Pong

    Well Well
    the common entrance has only one purpose that is to allocate students to secondary schools based on the declared wishes of the parents. The future outcomes of students are neither enhanced nor diminished by the common entrance result. I await the political party that will deny parental choice in this matter.

    By the way the common entrance exam still exists in the UK only that it is used for determining entry to “elite” schools of both the the private and public(state) sectors! If you live in New York you should have heard of the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test. It is the ONLY way to gain entry to one of the nine specialised schools in New York City which are public schools. About 20 000 students compete for 6000 places in what are probably the most resourced blessed schools in the world.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specialized_high_schools_in_New_York_City

    The alternative to the common entrance is a credit report from your bank.

  35. David Avatar
    David

    The issue maybe not that we need to change but to what and why? We seem to respond to this issue with too much emotion.

  36. ac Avatar
    ac

    BTW PDC proposal speaks of specifics and necessary reform of our education system to which ac agrees, / all the affluent fanfare of yesterday is just icing and no cake what is necessary are people with skills that are workable to sustaining an economy and not high marks on a paper and a certificate that is basically useless when that persons enters the workforce. The NEW WORLD Is technology driven . How is barbados going to compete on a world stage if all we can do is hand out certificates without anything of substance to build the economy

  37. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Ping……………………….yall so stuck on the 11+ you can see nothing else…………let me tell you about the system in NY, they got the school for gifted kids, there are the schools that only the extremely wealthy can afford, there are the parochial schools, the private schools, the public schools, from 5th grade, i have to ask my daughter to be sure, but there is standardized testing going forward city wide, then by the time the kid reaches 7th grade depending on their scores they can enter a program that will either see them taking a state wide test, where the brightest 250 students in NY State are chosen, depending on the program, to test after taking an SSAT assessment at Princeton, are then tested to choose the 60 brightest students in NY State who will be given the opportunity to take part in scholarship programs that will see them going from Ivy League High School to Ivy League University, if they so desire……………….no stress test…………..how i know this, a relative of mine was a candidate………………the other kids who are not so inclined will take their regents exam when they get to high school and decide which university or college to attend………..the more you try to defend a post slavery exam that you did not create to keep up an elitist facade, the more damage is being done.

  38. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    Bush Tea

    There needs to be a special room on BU on which those without betzpaenia can comment.

    There is nothing wrong with the common entrance exam- whixh remains a convenient way to apply for entrance into all/any of our secondary schools instead of going from school.What is needed is a system that takes the result of this test to another level.

    Clearly in Barbados there is a lack of persons with feasible ideas and a lack of “leadership” who can understand and accept the merits of such ideas.

    It is hilarious that Bajans should be advocating that we should follow the lead of the other islands in matters of education when we have always been light years ahead of these same folk.

    It was only in 1970 for example that Jamaica considered that school attendance out to be mandatory

  39. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Ping………………another issue you are ignoring, is these specialized tests are done over a period of days, not a one shot deal over a few hours that determines whether they will be seen as bright going to a ‘good’ school or dunce going to a ‘bad’ school that makes these kids nervous and anxious to the point that some of them vomit…………..i told you i have personal experience of the testing system in New York, which cannot be compared to what these kids doing the 11+ have to endure, i am beginning to think they are being subjected to cruelty, i will have to ask someone from the other islands what the deciding factor was in replacing 11+.

  40. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    The problem is not the 11 plus exam.

    It is the inequitable distribution of resources in the Education system.

    If all the schools had equal resources the 11 plus would be meaningless.

    Raise the standard of all the secondary schools.

  41. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    GP………………You continue to prove my point, you are light years ahead in education in the Caribbean but own very few businesses in Barbados, so the other islands obviously have something that you do not although you are light years ahead in education………..

  42. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Hants………..that is another issue, resources are not equally divided among the schools, the elitist facade and delusion of better than prevents the standards of all secondary schools to be raised…………..

  43. The People's Democratic Congress Avatar
    The People’s Democratic Congress

    @Bush Tea,

    “Can’t you see that all CXC is suggesting is that it be replaced with their exam…… WHICH WILL DO THE SAME? ….except they will be charging fees for both setting the exam AND correcting it?”.

    In the said Sunday Sun news story……”The CPEA focuses on the performance of students over a three year period, with classroom work done over two years preceding the exam accounting for 40 per cent of the final mark. CXC officials have claimed that the test was much broader than the Common Entrance as it would improve numeracy and literacy and encourage greater pupil and parental participation”.

    The CEE is a one-off examination and accounts for 100 per cent of the marks and grades, in a couple of hours doing!!!

    Let us take the time right now though and say to you and others on this blog that while we still support the CPEA in principle as a national continuous assessment program, it does not meet virtually all of our requirements from what we have gathered from the said Sunday Sun.

    It seems still to too muchly emphasize marks and grades rather than to emphasize further strengthening of pupil (individual and group) life social academic commercial technical technological professional skills abilities, and to minimize the weaknesses in the same pupil (individual and group) life social academic commercial technical technological professional skills abilities. It seems therefore too to be not about putting – though it ought to be – much concentration on successfully helping to provide the appropriate necessary mechanisms for doing such things, enough that they will facilitate the transferring of pupils from primary to secondary level based on primarily the social academic commercial technical technological professional aspirations and desires of the pupils parents, guardians, teachers, etc and not marks and grades.

    Notwithstanding that CXC has reportedly criticised the CEE for it being a sorting mechanism, it seems still not to be dealing with the adjunct fundamental problem of transferring pupils from primary to secondary schools – it seems not to be dealing therefore with the fundamental question of zoning in Barbados.

    PDC

  44. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    What is bothersome is the older mentalities prefer keep things as they are so they can boast about going to HC, going to QC going to Cawmere, going to Lodge (i don’t think Lodge is a boasting school anymore). Thing is i rather hear the boast of which of our brightest minds will stop the island from being so dependent on tourism, turn things around so that the island exports and not be totally reliant on imports, be self-sufficient with food production and security………….all the nonsense about good school and they have none of them produced anyone yet with those types of smarts.

    You want boast, some of us have relatives who were accorded some of the best scholarships and now handle some of the highest paying jobs in the world and don’t have to leave their homes to go to work…………..boasting of going from elementary to high school without knowing where you will ultimately end up will not cut it in this new world order.

  45. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @Well Well Barbados has done very well with limited resources.

  46. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    As i said, see what they are offering and tweak it to suit your system without resorting to the comfort zone of good school, bad school………………give the kids a chance to function in a new world without the elitist bull****. I am not telling anyone to adopt the standardized testing, but they can look at introducing their own version of continuous testing and that will minimize the chances of some child being robbed it’s place in a secondary school because the parent has enough pull and power or knows enough secrets to pull a string.

  47. Ping Pong Avatar
    Ping Pong

    Well Well

    a rose by any other name …. call it a common entrance exam, a specialised high school admissions test whatever. The fact is that in the real world we must compete for places in schools, jobs, houses, medical care everything. I wish i could give everybody everything they wished for but where ever that was attempted nobody got anything.

    Please read up on the Specialized High School Admissions Test.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specialized_High_Schools_Admissions_Test

    “The SHSAT tests for logical thinking and high ability in both English and mathematics. Both sections consist of multiple-choice questions. It is recommended that not more than 75 minutes be spent on each section, but the time can be divided in any way you wish. There is no break in between the exam. The exam is only offered once a year, and can be taken in both the eighth and ninth grades if the student wishes. Electronic calculators and other calculation aids may not be used during the test.

    The cut-off scores for each school vary yearly, determined simply by the number of open places in each school and how the candidates score. Students are notified of their scores in February. For the fall 2006 exam, the lowest cut-off score was 478. The highest cut-off score was 558 for Stuyvesant High School, historically the most desired of the schools.[9] The second highest cut-off score was 510 for Bronx Science.[citation needed] For the fall 2007 exam, the highest cut-off score was 562 for Stuyvesant. Stuyvesant accepted anyone who scored 562 or higher while Bronx Science had a cut-off score of 509. Brooklyn Technical had a cutoff of 480.”

    Reads a lot like our common entrance to me!

  48. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Hants……………and we will never try to take that away, but there is room for improvement and the world is changing, you have to be able to compete and upgrade and adapt to the changes.

  49. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Ping………..these are the kids who are deemed gifted, you will not find all the kids from every public or private school lumped in with these kids…………..i know of what i speak, one of my daughters did that test, and it’s optional, not mandatory, you can argue with me all night and i will be able to beat it back, that kind of testing is not for all the kids in NY at the same time. You will not find a kid from PS 111 being forced to take this exam.

  50. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Well Well where you went to school in Barbados?

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