Jeff Lloyd, Minister of Education. Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff
By AVA TURNQUEST
Tribune Chief Reporter
aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
EDUCATION Minister Jeffrey Lloyd flagged the government's expanded focus on early childhood education and technical and vocational training, as he reaffirmed the nation's commitment to the achievement of the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
Mr Lloyd spoke at the 39th annual UNESCO conference in Paris, France on Thursday.
"The Bahamas firmly believes that education is an indispensable element for achieving sustainable development," he said. "Thus, our newly elected government is working steadily to ensure the right of all of its citizens and residents to an equitable and inclusive education.
He continued: "New education policies are being be grounded in progressive educational research and planning, improving the learning environment; updating the curriculum and education materials; establishing global standards and conditions; and supporting the advancement and development of educational professionals.
"We are also shifting our policies from focusing exclusively on universal primary and secondary education to one that promotes lifelong learning, especially with a particular emphasis on early childhood and pre-school education.
Mr Lloyd said: "We firmly believe that in addition to those basics that were once the cornerstone of a primary school education, those being literacy, numeracy, orally and cognitive skills development, we must also ensure the vital inclusion of social and emotional values and training of our youngest minds.
"Another crucial area of focus for our country," he said, "is that of technical and vocational training.
"The Bahamas has increased financial assistance for students interested in these technical and vocational fields, concurrent with the expanded role of the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute. By such actions we have seen the numbers of entrants at the institution steadily increase; thus, ensuring that we have a technically skilled workforce to meet the country’s future demands."
Mr Lloyd said: "New local and regional partnerships are being forged while old ones are being strengthened, as The Bahamas recognises that the support of the international community is necessary if we are to achieve our desired goals. Such partnerships, we believe, enable sustainable development, and play a meaningful role in facilitating the implementation of these various initiatives in small island developing states like The Bahamas."
Mr Lloyd said the country was committed to full and constructive participation in follow-up and review processes of UNESCO's 2030 agenda, adding the government will continue to invest the "lion's share" of its national budget in education, science and technology.
"We accept that this is fraught with expected and unexpected challenges," he said, "considering our fragile resources as an emerging economy, with the added challenge of being an archipelago. Nonetheless, I once again affirm my country's commitment to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda."
Comments
sheeprunner12 7 years, 1 month ago
When are we expected to see some changes to the public school system????? ....... The geat talker seems to have NO plan despite the oracy skills
Well_mudda_take_sic 7 years, 1 month ago
Agree. Lloyd is one guy who will never be able to walk even his own talk! Being a very poor choice by Minnis for Minister of Education, Lloyd sorely lacks the skill sets, deep thinking gravitas and bravado necessary to do all of the heavy lifting required in the Ministry of Education. Lloyd is even a few notches below what Alfred Sears was when he was Minister of Education and we all know what a failure Sears was!
bogart 7 years, 1 month ago
Newly elected government working steadily to ensure the Rights of all its citizens and residents......whoa.....hold it right there......aint no rights for any resident who is here illegally to suck off of my VAT and taxes for no free education......Bahamians first. Show where the United Nations says that the Bahamian people must have bread taken out of their mouths to feed some other nations children...Bahamians have had VAT taxes imposed on them and now the govt wants to impose more taxes.....to continue this practice.? They illegal resident children must accompany their illegal resident parents back home as they should not infuse themselves with the knowledge of officials to continue. ...and officials must be held as accpmplices in breaking the laws and punished.......Bahamian people struggling going to bed hungry and freeness in edication costing money handed out....?.
sheeprunner12 7 years, 1 month ago
This is what Lloyd needs to do ......... (1) Find a new Executive team to run the Department of Education .......... (2) Sit and talk with Dame Ivy Dumont about how to put in place a real "magnet high school program" .......... (3) Streamline primary schools into upper and lower primary across the nation (like Jr/Sr High).......... (4) Close down the tiny primary and secondary schools to create better threshold use of physical and human resources in the Out Islands e.g. primary = 100, high = 300 ........ (5) Get rid of the "one size fits all" BJC/BGCSE secondary curriculum with a seven-point scale vs a 4pt GPA scale that is robbing the students of any motivation to excel in school........... (6) Rethink the senseless High School Diploma "credits criteria" that will further erode the quality of teaching .......... (7) Introduce five-year contracts, merit pay and teacher re-certification programmes ........ (8) Let principals and school boards interview and recruit their teachers ........... (9) Establish a Teacher Service Commission ..... (10) Reward deserving teachers who display high ACR standards after 5, 10, 20 and 25 years and use that as the basis to promote them as Trained Teacher (TT1&2), Senior Teacher (ST), and Master Teacher (MT) ............ Then more teachers may begin to see themselves as the "professionals" as these insincere politicians like to describe them.
ohdrap4 7 years, 1 month ago
sorry this is more of the crap we hear from the DEDs.
Want to improve education?
eliminate all the DEDS from decision making positions and get people who know their subjects to teach classes.
Well_mudda_take_sic 7 years, 1 month ago
Amen to your last point! We need teachers who are competent in their subject areas and dedicated to the noble calling of teaching. And we must pay them a living wage!
sheeprunner12 7 years, 1 month ago
What is a DED????????? ........ please explain this.
ohdrap4 7 years, 1 month ago
education doctor
educology is a fake science, they make up theories out of their backside.
sheeprunner12 7 years, 1 month ago
Sorry I left off the most important point ....... Abolish fee-paying private schools from The Bahamas once and for all ......... It is a racist, classist hangover from British colonialism that has continued to divide, conquer and destroy our social fabric based on money, religion, family links, ethnicity and colour ...... Name ONE OECD or CARICOM country where private schools are promoted as the means to educate the best 10% of a country's students??? ......... Your access to a Bahamian elite academic or technical school should be based on your academic merit - not the fact that you can pay $3,000 per term school fees ....... that is HOW you build education standards in the new Bahamas.
ohdrap4 7 years, 1 month ago
the Bahamas had a public school for elite students, SLOP killed it , heavens forbid another prime minister would graduate from there. now that he is dead maybe they can bring it back.
Dawes 7 years, 1 month ago
I don't agree with abolishing fee paying private schools, i think the aim should be to make public schools so good that parents would rather put their children into the public schools. I do however firmly believe the Government should no longer fund the private schools as that money should be spent on public schools.
sheeprunner12 6 years, 8 months ago
What happened in that closed door Education Stakeholders Forum today????
Besides the good Deacon running on with his usual verbal diarrhea???
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