Minister Santia Bradshaw in a matter of fact delivery announced at a press briefing yesterday our school children will be returning to the classroom from the 20 April 2021. The expectation is for teachers to return on the 19 April, Class 3 and 4 at primary schools and fifth and sixth formers of secondary schools on the 20 April. The
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Kudos to the Nation newspaper for highlighting the human interest story Family lacks electricity for online classes. The story resonated with the blogmaster for many reasons that should be obvious to sensible people. Leaders in education of late, forced to implement Covid 19 measures, have been repeatedly braying the cliche “no child must be left behind‘ – what does that
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Submitted by P Seale For a long time I have been annoyed by the things I have been hearing about the BUT. Teachers are being badly treated by the ministry and the union has been doing nothing about it. Since being elected the president is silent on the key issues he was pushing to be on the agenda and I
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Some blogs posted to Barbados Underground through the years have highlighted the importance of the private and public sectors working together to ensure we allocate adequate resources to maintain a robust IT infrastructure. It is no secret government websites in Barbados are easy targets from hackers. And in recent weeks a few private companies have been penetrated with ransomware attacks
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On Sunday, October 18, Sir Hilary Beckles, in his capacity as Chairman of the Caribbean Examinations Council, and Dr. Wayne Wesley, Registrar of CXC, held a virtual press conference to release the preliminary findings of the Independent Review Team, empaneled to investigate the examination process, allocated examination results and general performance expectations, inter alia. For the purpose of context, this Review
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The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is a Caribbean institution. As Caribbean nationals, we should insist that the integrity of Caribbean institutions be protected. If our institutions provide a high-quality product, their integrity is automatically protected. CXC has one main product – its examinations. There are three basic components of that product. Namely, a syllabus of information for students to understand,
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The blogmaster has received a few messages regarding the sudden decision by the Ministry of Education to transfer Principals from some schools. Here is one that captures key concerns arising from the abrupt change. – David, blogmaster Once again the Ministry of Education and Madness will send schools into confusion with the abrupt, last minute, poorly thought out shifting of
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Submitted by Dr. Hollis ‘’Chalkdust’’ Liverpool, ORTT For years I have longed to write an article on what it means to hold a doctorate from an accredited university, but neglected so to do, since I too hold one from the University of Michigan, currently ranked as No. 22 among universities of the world. However, when during the last election campaign,
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The inability of key stakeholders – the Ministry of Education (MOE) and respective teacher’s unions to discuss Covid 19 protocols in a constructive environment in order to facilitate the commencement of the proposed September 21, 2020 term has come as no surprise. The relationship between successive governments, Barbados Secondary Teachers Union (BSTU) and Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) has been
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Submitted by Cherfleur In the High Court of Judicature CV307 of 2019 (Follow up on BCC – Education, Educator and the Masses) False and misleading information and advice attracting applications to 2 Failure to conduct Grade Appeals as per Statute; Failure to provide for Electives within the program Finance and Investment; Including subjects in programs as Electives and denying students’ freedom of
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The government has taken – some are saying – the bold decision to announce a date for children to return to physical classrooms in Barbados. Some parents have expressed concern why the rush especially for a ten or eleven year old preparing for the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination. If the world has to live with Covid 19 until there
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Is the ULP Education Revolution A Fraud? Or Simply an Embroidered Lie? Submitted by Nathan ‘Jolly’ Green It is ‘A’ typical for left-wing leaders, more so those with Marxist tendencies to use emotive projects to stay in power. Education, low-cost or free social housing, and exceptional medical facilities are usually what they choose to fool the electorate into thinking they
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Submitted by SirFuzzy Will the MOEd [Ministry of Education] be forced to consider having a staggered teaching arrangement if the covid-19 induced realities still swamp us at the beginning of a new academic year in September 2020″? I believe that secondary school may adapt to the stay-at-home- distance education model far easier as you have young school children that can
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The following communication received in the blogmaster’s inbox is self explained. The traffic challenge in Bridgetown and its environs from sun up to sun down is well known. Please discuss for 10 marks.
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We have reached a state in Barbados where crime pays the bills of many households. Politicians who participated in the last general election know this. While canvassing in certain areas, it was common to hear the same excuse that there were no other options available. Since then, things have only gotten worse for most. Many claim that: no-one in their
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Many issues of the day continue to question our ability to govern. One of them is the health of the National Insurance Fund (NIF). If you listen to the politician while in Opposition, it is a fund under stress. If you listen to the same politician on attaining the office of government, the NIF is described in more positive terms.
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There has always been consensus by the BU family that at the root of our problems is an irrelevant and dysfunctional education system. It was therefore important to listen to Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw as she and her team appeared before the 2019 House Appropriation Debate – Standing Finance Committee OWN the problems with a promise to reform the
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The blogmaster can recall that in 2010 former Minister of Health Donville Inniss announced a plan to change the nursing program at the Barbados Community College (BCC). The objective was to ensure that Barbados responded to a shortage of nurses. Who remembers the public outcry when nurses from the Philippines and elsewhere were recruited at the QEH? The underlying reason
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