As the country continues to record poor national exam results, the government recently invested just over $2 million to outfit the nation's public schools with 'cutting edge' technology. It's a historic move that Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald yesterday insisted will engage the interest of students and target weak areas in the education system. Fitzgerald was speaking during a press conference at Doris Johnson Senior High School.
The schools are now outfitted with modern technology such as desktop computers, interactive white boards, projectors, laptops and related subject specific instructional technology resources. The technology was installed over the last three months, Fitzgerald said. Prime Minister Perry Christie said the $2.2 million investment is the first phase of the government's plan to upgrade the technology in the public school system, and is the largest investment in education in the past 20 years. In total 76 primary and secondary schools were impacted.
"The challenges we face in education did not occur overnight and most certainly we will not fix them overnight. We have a lot of work to do, but we are making steady progress and what you see today is a giant step in the right direction," said Christie during the press conference. The prime minister added: "When we look at this achievement from a national perspective, we can see that education is headed in the right direction.
In the not-too-distant future we will begin to see a new caliber of high school graduates; those who are able to embrace technology in meaningful ways, maximize their potential and in the process build a better Bahamas." The government was able to purchase the equipment through a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Christie said the loan was the brainchild of former Education Minister Alfred Sears. The prime minister added that the loan subsequently led to the creation of the "INSPIRE project", which stands for "Investing in Students and Programmes for the Innovative Reform of Education".
"INSPIRE introduced the new concept of subject-specific labs with priority given to the career and technical field with an equally important focus on the core subjects of science, language arts and mathematics," Christie said. Students sitting the 2012 Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) exams received an average letter grade of D in English language and E+ in mathematics, according to data from the Ministry of Education.
Fitzgerald said the aim of the project is to make education more relevant; ensure the effective management of education by training teachers, and to provide information communications technology related to career opportunities for a large number of Bahamian youth, among other things. Fitzgerald said he signed off on the second phase of the project last week, which will result in the further expansion of technology in the public school system.
That phase will cost approximately $850,000. Fitzgerald said the technology associated with that aspect of the project will be installed between April and June 2013. He added that the project will include the creation of additional subject specific labs and the enhancement of the linkages and connectivity between schools to enhance the sharing of information and communication.
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