Both Education Minister Kay McConney and Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw should be suspended while a public enquiry is conducted into how the controversial Computer Science test was administered in local schools.That is the view of human rights advocate Felicia Dujon, who is also imploring parents of students affected by the test to bring a class action lawsuit against the Government.Dujon, a lecturer in Philosophy at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, has contended that even though apologies were tendered by McConney, Dr Archer-Bradshaw and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), for their mistakes which led to 733 11-year-olds being questioned about their sexuality and gender identity, there was a need for an investigation.She told Barbados TODAY it meant that both the minister and the Chief Education Officer should be “placed on leave” until those investigations were completed.“Parents should request a public enquiry into the matter becau
The Barbados National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations (BNCPTA) is investigating allegations that some Frederick Smith Secondary School students were locked out of the school on Tuesday morning.In an interview with Barbados TODAY on Wednesday, concerned general secretary Nicole Brathwaite said she was actively seeking answers.A video making the rounds on social media on Tuesday showed several school children standing outside the gate of the Trents, St James school.In an accompanying voice note, an upset parent claimed the principal had locked the children out at 9:15 a.m. and had used inappropriate language in speaking to the students.When contacted, principal Stephen Jackman declined comment and Barbados TODAY’s efforts to reach Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Bradshaw-Archer were unsuccessful.Brathwaite said if the security and principal conducted themselves in an inappropriate manner, they should be dealt with accordingly. However, she said, if it was a case of disciplinar
By now, most interested parties and even simple onlookers to the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) decision to go ahead with its 2022 examination schedule as though it is just another day in paradise across the region, must be scratching their heads in bemusement.The demand from across the Caribbean to this regional institution that is based in Barbados, is that our children require more time to adequately prepare mainly for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) examinations.They have called for a delay in the schedule of exams, some of which have already started.Unlike the early years of CXC when students wrote one-shot examinations, today, attaining CXC success requires students and teachers to be more involved in extensive pre-examination work which comes in the form of school-based assessments (SBA).Most parents will testify that SBAs can be as stressful as the main examination. And as many students have dis
Regional examination body, the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC), has delayed its suite of exams by three weeks. Following a special meeting today of CXC’s Council, the governing board made the decision to postpone the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), in light of the preparation challenges faced by regional students as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, an extension of two weeks has been …
As the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) holds firm in its decision to execute May/June examinations from next week, more pressure is being placed on it to push them back. The Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT), Caribbean Coalition for Exam Redress, Barbados National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations (BNCPTA) and Minister of Education in Jamaica Fayval Williams have called on the regional body to be flexible and postpone Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate …