BlackFacts Details

#BTEditorial - Will Bajans be satisfied to just move on? - Barbados Today

Today, the wrath of citizens in and outside Barbados has been consistent. They are not satisfied with the apologies and explanations that have been offered. They want action, which they believe is commensurate with the harm and embarrassment that the matter has caused to students and parents, as well as the island’s image.Barbadians believe that innocent 11 and 12-year-old school children were exploited by representatives of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) who said they “inadvertently” retained questions in the “pretest” which the Ministry of Education said it requested be removed. The Ministry’s high command, for their part, admitted that no one checked to confirm the questions were removed, taking the word of the IDB that their request had been actioned.Parents are still upset that not only was information collected on the youngsters but also on them, all this with no permission.It has become one hot and messy saga, with so many questions still unanswered. Among them, was the role of principals and teachers at the schools, whom many accused of abdicating their responsibility to the children by allowing people they did not know to enter classrooms and conduct  a “test” in which teachers were required to leave during the process.After days of being condemned for her silence, Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training Kay McConney finally addressed the issue over the weekend, but the consensus is McConney’s style and body language did little to help her cause or endear her to the public.

Education Facts