By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
The Bahamas needs to rapidly improve "the quality of education" if is to reduce structural unemployment and improve its competitiveness, the IMF has warned.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its latest Article IV report, said progress in improving high school leaver grades "seems slow" despite having cut the proportion of "low skilled labour" in the country's workforce by more than half over the past decade.
"The average education level is increasing, but progress in improving the quality of education seems slow," the Fund concluded. "[For] the quality of education, when measured in terms of graduation rates or test scores for the high-school students, the Bahamian General Certificate of Secondary Examination (BGCSE), the improvement has been slow.
"For example, according to the [Coalition for Education Reform] report, the average grade for high school students was 'D-', with only 18 per cent of public high school students having passed the Math exam and 45 per cent of students having passed the English language exam under BGCSE in 2006.
"In 2016, the average grade moved up to 'D', and only 5.7 per cent of high school students scored a 'C' or above in Math, English and a science subject under the BGCSE, while the average score for math and English was 'E' and 'D+', respectively."
The IMF identified similar concerns with the Bahamas' vocational and technical education. "The IDB found that in November 2015, out of 1798 enrolled students in the Bahamas Technology and Vocational Institute (BTVI), only 253 students graduated in school year 2014-15," it added.
"Data from the latest labour market report by the Department of Statistics shows that in 2016-2017 school year, 187 students graduated from BTVI, with one third concentrated on office administration, and 12 or 6 per cent of the total earned degrees on information technology."
The IMF conceded there had been progress in other areas, though, adding: "The share of low-skilled labour (no schooling or only primary education) in the total labour force declined significantly from 11.6 per cent in 2006 to 4.3 per cent in 2017, and the share of labour with tertiary education increased from 25.1 to 28.6 per cent. Fifty-nine per cent of the labour force in 2017 had completed secondary education, up from 53.8 per cent in 2006."
It also credited the National Training Agency for graduating 4,500 Bahamians, without about half able to find jobs, while the 'Labour on the Blocks' initiative had resulted in 900 hirings from 4,000 participants.
"Improving the quality of general education should help sustain long-term employment," the IMF said. "Research shows that while vocational training could smooth entry of the young into the labour market, developing strong cognitive skills through general education could help sustain long-term employment.
"Boosting the quality of high school education, including on Math and English skills, is a critical step in this direction."
Comments
B_I_D___ 6 years, 5 months ago
Man...dey better make dat IMF person resign from da bank!!
sheeprunner12 6 years, 5 months ago
Government primary schools are generally very good ........ But once the private schools start fleecing them, the public junior high schools are average....... and once the private schools take the top BJC students and athletes, the public senior high schools are left with scraps.
To change this system needs a serious paradigm shift ...... Bring back the elite public academic high school (The Old GHS) ........ Create primary schools that Start at K3 and end at Grade 5 ......... Bring back the Common Entrance exam or revamp the BJC at eighth grade to stream ALL students for Senior High School...... Create 4-year magnet Public Senior High schools for STEM, TVET and Performing Arts ....... Get rid of the present one-size-fits-all system ....... Centralize Out Island schools .......... Introduce a Teachers Service Commission and put ALL educators on merit pay/contracts to enhance performance ......... We have the infrastructure and the personnel, but all we need is the Vision for Change (that Jeff Lloyd does not seem to have).
BUT WHO WILL HAVE THE ONIONS TO DO THAT?????? ...... The Unions are lurking.
sheeprunner12 6 years, 5 months ago
Parents do not invest time in their children’s studies, and so the children invest time in everything else but their schoolwork. To the extent that a child grows up seeing school as something he has to go to because it is the law of the land, as opposed to seeing education as the food without which he will live a starved life, will be the extent to which our schools turn out Bahamians year after year who cannot compete in the job market and who struggle to see their way clear to a better life. (Tribune May 2, 2013)
CONSIDER THIS:
Too many parents dress up their children, but do not teach them manners and respect.
Too many parents buy their children expensive gadgets, but do not go to PTA meetings, orientation exercises, extracurricular activities or PT conferences.
Too many parents will take their children shopping in the USA, but they won't take them to the Family Islands to allow them to learn about their country and their family roots.
Too many parents will sign up for private or government loans to send their children to US colleges, but they will not encourage them to come back and build their country after graduating.
This is what is wrong with most of our Bahamian parents in the education system.
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