The recent results of the Barbados Secondary Schools Entrance Examinations (BSSEE) – the 11-Plus Exam – have once again highlighted the pressing need for a fundamental reassessment of our education system. While the Ministry of Education scrambles to highlight positives, the underlying issues cannot be ignored.The dominance of private schools among top performers and the concerning number of students scoring zero in mathematics point to a systemic failure - not of our students, but of the examination itself and the educational approach it represents.But is abolishing the exam entirely the answer?We accept that the BSSEE, in its current form, is perpetuating educational inequality. It’s a high-stakes, single-sitting exam that fails to capture the true potential and diverse abilities of our young learners. The pressure it places on students, parents, and teachers is immense, often leading to a narrow focus on exam preparation at the expense of holistic education.It smacks of the elitism and exclusivity of its colonial roots. But in a nation that has kept the fundamental form and structure of public education since the Mitchinson commission of 1879 – retaining an academic-based Barbados Scholarship after 145 years but ending and only partially restoring free university education, the government’s current reform ideas ignore the enduring grip of historic reality. There is room for both excellence and equity.
