The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

EDUCATION Minister Glenys Hanna Martin says her ministry is reviewing graduation requirements for public high schools with a view to making them “more facilitative” for performing students.

This comes after several concerns were raised by seniors about their inability to receive their diploma this year after discovering they did not meet the criteria to graduate.

Mrs Hanna Martin told reporters yesterday that it is her belief that certain requirements for graduation must be revisited to ensure that no student is being disenfranchised.

She also said her ministry has implemented recovery programmes to assist high school students who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This, she added, will allow those to meet the requirements needed for graduation.

She said: “There are two issues – one is the COVID issue and where there are COVID issues, the Ministry of Education or the schools locally are putting in place recovery efforts which every child should avail themselves of where possible. That’s also available for another category.

“But there’s another more general category of people, children and young people, who have come through school and for one reason or another there’s a missing component for the high school diploma and some are finding out at this point when they’re thinking they’re going to graduate, they’re finding out they can’t graduate.

“We’re reviewing that now. I mean it’s very late in the game now as the school year is ending shortly so I don’t think you’ll see fundamental reform in that regard but we are reviewing it because it’s my view that certain aspects of that must be revisited to see how, without lowering academic standards, to see how we cannot create barriers and be more facilitative for performing students so that is underway.”

This comes amid continued concern about the pandemic’s impact on education, with data showing significant learning loss, according to education officials.

Yesterday, Mrs Hanna Martin gave an update on her ministry’s plans of developing a diagnostic test, which will ascertain the extent of learning loss in the country.

“It’s completed. It was developed in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education. It is completed and (will be) published shortly,” she said.

The minister was also asked whether the country could soon see a Bahamian heading the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) after the institution’s president’s contract expires later this year.

“Well, we have just named a new board and the board will have oversight of the decision making as it relates to that. The point I made as it relates to the University of The Bahamas is that it is the objective of me as minister of education and I believe as The Bahamas government to ensure where possible Bahamians are empowered and able to assume positions that aid in our development as a people which include our educational institutions. So that’s an undergirding principle. But of course, the board will review the circumstances and we will be in dialogue to see what the outcome of that will be.”

Last week, University of the Bahamas selected international academic Dr Erik Rolland as the institution’s next president, with Dr Ian Strachan promoted to executive vice president of UB.

The minister has previously said she expects that “in short order” a Bahamian will ascend to the top post.

Those comments were later criticised by former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, who told reporters he believed that Mrs Hanna Martin’s posture was the wrong one to take, adding the Davis administration should live with the decision of UB’s board, whether it disagrees with the choice or not.

Responding to those remarks yesterday, the education minister said: “So good to hear from the former prime minister. It’s good to know that he’s still alive and well.”