Much has been said about the present state of our education system and in particular, the academic performance of our students. The leader of the Opposition is on record as saying that our education system went from “bad to worse” when Minister Alfred Sears relinquished the portfolio of Attorney General. Mr. Ingraham insists that the education minister does not know what he is doing. While expressions of concern are not without merit and I know that there are opportunities for improvement in education, the achievements of the Ministry of Education over the past five years are impressive, but there is much work to be done. I urge Bahamians to put the achievements of the Ministry of Education into perspective and consider what more they can do as parents and students to forge a stronger partnership with the government as we expand the intellectual capacity of our nation. I have some observations and perspectives that I would like to share with your readers:

The national grade mean of the BGCSE improved from D minus to D plus between 2002 and 2005. It remained at a D plus in 2006. This is relatively impressive because the grade mean languished between a D minus and a D for nine years between 1993 and 2002. At one point during that period, the ministry had the benefit of two full time ministers, Mrs Ivy Dumont and Mr. Zhivago Laing. Minister Sears, for all intents and purposes, was a part time Education Minister.

As for low performing students, the government addressed the vexing issue of social promotion by implementing the Extended Learning Programme (ELP) which is a remediation programme designed to enable failing students to improve their academic achievement levels before being promoted to the next grade level. The ELP involves instruction in Mathematics and Reading for four weeks during the summer break.

As regards to the physical plant, the FNM government did construct ten schools in 10 years and the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) constructed two schools. This translates into about 332 class rooms. When one considers the amount of class rooms constructed by the FNM government alone during its 10 years of governance, that number is below 300 class rooms. The record will show that the PLP government constructed 519 standard class rooms and 33 preschool units in five years, more than doubling the 24 pre-school units that were in place in 2002. This is the single largest upgrade and expansion exercise of the education physical plant in more than fifteen years at a cost of over $70 million. It covered a network of 161 schools. Further, the government hired 57 pre-school teachers and tabled legislation regulating the operation of pre-schools in the Bahamas. These are the unvarnished facts.
 
To create an organization that was more effective and responsive to the education needs of our students, Minister Sears facilitated the restructuring of the Ministry of Education which included the following:
a. Creating two new divisions one for special education and pre-school and another for Development (which includes professional development, development of indigenous reading and educational material and the development of a distance education programme).  Each division is headed by a deputy director of education;
b. Creation of a Communications Division which is responsible for informing the public on the state of education;
c. Restructuring of the Planning Unit;
d. Promoting constant dialogue on education by institutionalising the National Education Conference.  A permanent secretariat has been formed to oversee that the recommendations of the 18th NEC are implemented.

To effectively address working conditions and remuneration issues, the government successfully negotiated a historic five-year collective bargaining agreement with the BUT providing for, among other things, substantial salary increases for teachers. This was the first of its kind since its recognition in 1965. Entry level salaries for teachers were increased from $22,800 to $25,000 and the ceiling was raised from $31,200 to $34,000 in addition to $1,600 in basic pay increases. Also, outstanding teachers with 10 years of continuous service can qualify for one year paid sabbaticals, the union leave was increased from 60 to 78 days, and male teachers were given paternity leave of one week. The total financial package was valued at $20.5 million over the life of the agreement.

After rescuing the almost bankrupt Government Guarantee Loan programme, the government embarked on a project designed to reform education and better develop and align the skill set of our students with the realities and demands of our rapidly expanding economy. To this end the government successfully negotiated a $23 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank to address deficiencies in technical and vocational education, special education and pre-school education, ICT and computer related education. The project will address issues associated with institutional strengthening such as developing the systems and capacity to monitor and evaluate existing and future programmes.

While I disagree with the FNM that education was neglected under the PLP, I believe that a stronger partnership is needed between the government and the parents of the more than 50,000 students in our public school system if our education progress is to continue. The government commits more than $170 million to education annually, with more than 3,500 education professionals in 161 schools throughout our archipelago. The commitment of the government to education development is measurable and evident, but could parents say the same of their commitment to their children’s intellectual development? This proverbial marriage is, by and large, one-sided. The culture of anti-intellectualism and under achievement in our public school system is generally encouraged in the social environment of these students. Control of this environment is beyond the scope of responsibility and sphere of influence of the teaching professional. When students enter the domain of the Ministry of Education, they bring with them these social challenges. The worth of the education professional is predicated on his or her ability to overcome these social challenges and reach the student, successfully transferring the knowledge. This burden, albeit unfair, is very real because civil society does not hold parents responsible or accountable for their failure to demonstrate the quality of leadership necessary to facilitate our national intellectual development. One may argue that the structural and functional design of our institution of education does not now and has never placed such expectations and responsibilities on the parents. While this is a credible argument, parents are not absolved or excused from their primary responsibility of transferring a set of values to their children that will prepare them for responsible and productive citizenship. Parents must think on these things.
Elcott Coleby