The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

EDUCATION Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin revealed officials are hoping that by December they will be able to make an accurate assessment of the national high school diploma so that they can ensure it does not negatively affect students.

She said officials have recently had town meetings on the issue in New Providence.

“And then we will move into Grand Bahama next, but we are going to be hoping that by December, we will be able to make an accurate assessment of the high school diploma, so that we can ensure that it truly tests the ability and prepares the child and does not have the negative impact of marginalising children,” she told reporters this week.

“And this is what one of the allegations is and we’re very concerned about that. So that is underway. That is a fundamental initiative to which we believe will increase student morale and will also allow for greater motivation for attainment.”

To graduate with a diploma from a public high school the following criteria must be met: attain four subjects in the Bahamas Junior Certificate examinations; maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 over the three years, grade 10-12, on a four point scale; complete 30 hours of unpaid community service; and maintain 90 percent punctuality level over three-year period, among other criteria.

The minister added that officials are assessing attendance in schools post-pandemic.

“I should have said that one of the other issues COVID related is attendance. And we have engaged, we’ve taken over some of the COVID police officers who were previously involved in ensuring protocols were complied with and we have trained them and they’re in New Providence and we bring them in Grand Bahama, so that they can take on the task of ensuring children are in school and that work is already underway,” she said.