The government's new immigration policy, which mandates that children have a student permit to attend schools beginning fall 2015, comes years after the country became party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which mandates that primary education is "compulsory and available free to all".

According to Article 28 of that convention, "States parties recognize the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular make primary education compulsory and available free to all." The convention adds that parties should also "encourage the development of different forms of secondary education, including general and vocational education, make them available and accessible to every child, and take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education and offering financial assistance in case of need".

Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell's announcement last week that all non-Bahamian students, including those born in The Bahamas, will be required to have a student permit or a passport with a residency stamp, calls into question whether the policy shift will infringe on the rights of the child. However, in a statement, the Ministry of Immigration and Foreign Affairs suggested that the policy decision does not violate any international conventions.

"The government of The Bahamas respects the prevalence of the rule of law; it is not the policy of the government to violate the rights of any individual and at all material times this country will act in a manner consonant with its international obligations toward children and the stateless," the statement said.

The policy is a part of a wider mandate to crack down on illegal immigration.

When asked about the rights of children during a previous interview, Director of Education Lionel Sands said the Department of Education does not concern itself with the status of the children attending government schools or the status of their parents.

"The Bahamas is a party to many international conventions and one of those conventions (Convention on the Rights of the Child) stresses that any school age child in the country should be allowed to attend school until such time as they are either repatriated to their homeland or they return," he said. "That's the reason we have any number of children in our schools who are not indigenous children because of that particular convention."

Sands was contacted for comment back in November following the implementation of the policy, which requires all non-Bahamians to have passports of their nationalities and evidence that they have permission to live and work in The Bahamas. At the time, there was confusion and fear surrounding what would happen to the children attending public schools who had no legal status in the country.

Sands said it is unclear how many illegal immigrants are in the public school system.

"When we take registration, the thing that we do ask, number one, is for the immunization card to ensure that they are immunized against any diseases that may spread in the country," Sands explained, when asked about the registration process. "And so, that is one of the requirements for entry into the schools. But we don't ask them if their parents are here legally or illegally. We don't do that. That's an immigration problem and so immigration would deal with that.

"In terms of verifying that the children are who they are presented to be, we ask for documentation."

Asked whether he is concerned about the presence of illegal immigrants in the school system, Sands said no. He said when officials educate children they're making way for a better community. However, he did indicate that the wider Bahamian population may be concerned about the money the government spends to educate them.

"For every child that attends school, the government pays a hefty price," he noted. "When you look at the budget for the Department of Education alone, you're talking about over $200 million a year. So when you divide the $200 million a year with the 51,000 [students], you're spending some money. So in that sense, yes, there is some concern because we're spending so much money and that doesn't even speak to the health services or the other services.

"...There will be concern...but we do it out of obligation. The final analysis is we want to ensure that those who are living here illegally, they are educated to the point where they are able to function properly in this community until such time that they are repatriated or they regularize their status. We can't wait until that happens, [before] we educate them."

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