BAHAMAS Union of Teachers president Belinda Wilson.
By JADE RUSSELL
Tribune Staff Reporter
jrussell@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMAS Union of Teachers President Belinda Wilson, criticised the Ministry of Education for annually attempting to justify national exam results when she says it is evident the academic curriculum needs revision.
Mrs Wilson was a guest caller on Guardian Radio’s “Morning Blend” show, where the latest Bahamas Junior Certificate (BJC) and Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) exam results were discussed. Education officials revealed the results last Friday. However, there has been criticism that they presented an overly positive image of student performance.
Mrs Wilson noted that decades ago, when the General Certificate of Education (GCE) and General Certificate of Education and Secondary Education (GCSE) was administered, only about 15 to 20 percent of students achieved successful exam results. She said the same is now happening with the BJC and BGCSE exams.
“It behooves me though, that every year you have ministers of education who are not technocrats, who are not educated, who painstakingly sit down trying to explain the results of BJC and the BGCSE. It makes no sense to continue to do that annually,” Mrs Wilson said.
“What I’m trying to find out is why is the Ministry of Education every year regurgitating that which we can read instead of them focusing on revising the curriculum, ensuring that schools have adequate teachers, investing more in teacher training and professional development.”
Mrs Wilson acknowledged the learning gap in the education system but questioned the lack of intervention for struggling students. She expressed concern that special needs students are treated as if everything is normal when they need diagnosis and special education. She added that multiple factors influence the country’s national exam results.
Regarding curriculum revision, Mrs Wilson said that students are being required to take up to 13 subjects when some can’t even read. She stressed the need for intervention when students struggle with basic skills, questioning how they are expected to excel in various subjects under these conditions.
The national exam results over years have indicated that some students may not be academically inclined but excel in trades or technical work. While the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) offers relevant training, Mrs Wilson said it is becoming increasingly difficult for students to enter the institution due to academic requirements.
“What is it that we’re doing for the 80 to 85 percent of our students who will not pass a BJC or BGCSE if they stay in school for 100 years. So we need to accept what the reality is. The examinations are geared toward your top tier academic students who are between 15 to 20 percent of your student population throughout the country.”
Additionally, the Ministry of Education has participated in several international conferences to learn and implement strategies beneficial to the country’s education system. However, Mrs Wilson expressed her frustration, saying she is “sick and tired” of ministers attending these conferences without understanding the best practices needed for the country’s educational system.
“We go to these conferences, we show off as if The Bahamas is up there and then we come back and we do nothing,” she said.
In the 2024 BJC, 10,745 candidates from 63 government schools and 74 independent/private centres participated, a slight decrease of 1.7 percent from 2023. Of these, 1,388 candidates earned grades of C or higher in at least five subjects, a minor drop from 1,417 last year. Additionally, 1,948 candidates achieved grades of D or above in five or more subjects, up slightly from 1,945 in 2023. The number of students securing at least a C in Mathematics, English, and Science decreased to 1,298 from 1,402.
For the BGCSE, which marked its 32nd sitting since 1993, 5,935 candidates from 41 government schools and 66 independent/private centres participated, a 10.05 percent increase from 2023. The total number of grades awarded rose to 20,598, a 9.99 percent increase from 18,727 grades in the previous year.
Both male and female candidates showed improvements, with higher percentages of A to C grades and reductions in D to G grades. Although girls continue to outperform males overall, boys progressed in achieving B grades and reducing D and F grades.
This year, 653 candidates earned grades of C or higher in at least five subjects. Additionally, 1,009 candidates obtained a minimum grade of D in five or more subjects. Four hundred and thirty-one candidates secured at least a C in mathematics, English, and science.
Comments
JackArawak 2 months, 4 weeks ago
Lynden Oscar Pindling is the grandfather of this mess, and every administration since has failed the Bahamian children.
bahamianson 2 months, 4 weeks ago
So many factors affect our children. They arw all bright children and can do amazing ,academic achievements. What do you do when five children from a single 28 year old mother have to go to school? The mother does not have a job , but has 5 children. That is the begining of a bad start. We have to start from there. Did I mention that they are living in a car? Beforw we get to some children are academic and some need trade schools , we have to deal with a 28 year old single , jobless mother. After that, we can deal with the academic insufficiencies.
DWW 2 months, 3 weeks ago
birth control and early term abortion is the only real solution. and flavoured with a bit of societal educatoin. But the CC won't allow that to happen and we continue to stagnate in 17th century backwater mentality.
hrysippus 2 months, 4 weeks ago
If I am wrong then I will tender an apology to Miss Belinda Wilson; but I do not believe that she has ever been a teacher that taught an academic subject that a student could achieve a BGC or BGCSE. C an you get a grade A or B in BGC Netball? I do not think so and such being the case her criticism of Ministers of Education, some of whom were real educators, is a little precious, possibly verging towards the hypocritical. Nothing new then.
birdiestrachan 2 months, 4 weeks ago
Ms Wilson is a part of the problem rowdy with no solutions, the other day in Andros I Believe the school in Andros sent the children home, the teachers had problems with the head master or mistress, it is important to love the children they teach , education need. All the children must have a passion for learning and the teachers for teaching ,and the parents must do their part,
birdiestrachan 2 months, 4 weeks ago
If only more of them had the passion and love the indomitable spirit that Ms Hanna Martin has,
ExposedU2C 2 months, 3 weeks ago
Hanna-Martin and roughly 75% of those employed by the ministry of education (including Belinder Wilson) need to be given their walking papers. They have all proven themselves to be detrimental to the quality of education received by students who enroll in our nation's public education system. And they all constitute a major impediment to any changes for the better. The door needs to be opened wide, very wide, to foreign qualified teachers. The grave harm done by Pindling and Loftus Roker to our education system in the early 1970s, cannot be undone in any other way.
Bottomline: We desperately need asap the best qualified teachers for our children no matter where on this planet they may hail from. And all work permit, residency and other government fees associated with their employment by a public or private school should be waived.
ohdrap4 2 months, 3 weeks ago
This woman supported lockdowns and does not care about children.
She cannot even speak properly. Says "would have" every other sentence.
Teachers are needed who knows subject matter .
The degrees in Education only know how to cut and paste crepe paper.
trueBahamian 2 months, 3 weeks ago
The person writing this article missed up the figures. They presented the numbers twice but changed them. Which Ines are right. If students can't read and write and do basic arithmetic, the system has failed. The issue isn't so much that 80 to 85 percent of students can't pass these exams. It's that a lot of them are not focused and their parents are focused on other things than their child's performance. Every student will not be great academically but a lot of these students are not as bad as we believe. With better teachers and better parents we would have better grades.
DiverBelow 2 months, 3 weeks ago
Keep in mind, it is the adults in the picture, that determine the possibilities of the children. We expect teachers to educate when not given the resources: skills,monetary & tools. We are expected to mold the natural curiosity of children while spending most of our time/energies on administrative exercises imposed by those who do not teach! Administrators, administrate, i.e.: find the resources & time for teachers to teach!!. PARENTS, BE Your children's PARENT & MENTOR, not their friend & 'mates. Quit sending your kids to school for baby-sitting purposes while you work or play. Minimize the screen-time baby-sitting, advance required physical education & sports. Children's bodies & minds are in constant growth, requiring perpetual flexing and use. If resources are not available in our educational institutions, we will pay more while they stagnate in our alternative institutions...such as jail. It's proven, Education is cheaper in the long run!!
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