During a virtual press conference held on Monday, 8th June, 2020 to discuss the commencement of the National Examinations, Minister of Education, the Honourable Jeffrey L. Lloyd, observed a moment of silence in memory of 10-yr old Lorencia Walkes, the fifth grade student of Sybil Strachan Primary School who died Sunday, June 7th as a result of a shooting that occurred on May 29th in the Carmichael Road. He stated that the Ministry shares the grief of Lorencia’s immediate family – Parents and Siblings and other relatives and her school family, Sybil Strachan Primary.

“Her teachers describe her as a loving, happy child, who always greeted them with hugs,” he stated. The Ministry is providing grief counsellors for the Sybil Strachan community and the family to help them all through the tragic and unfortunate loss.

In addressing the issue of the national examinations, Minister Lloyd noted that on Thursday, June 4, The Prime Minister, The Competent Authority, acting on the advice of the Ministry of Education announced that the BJC and BGCSE Exams will be held beginning July 13 this year.

The Ministry undertook the decision to conduct the exams after it was announced by the Competent Authority that Phase Three had commenced, and that educational operations could be conducted according to the health protocols.

“It had always been the intention of the Ministry to conduct External Exams if conditions permitted.

This is why it was repeatedly stated that the Exams were POSTPONED, NOT CANCELLED. We stated this from the beginning of the national lockdown. Students were advised that the lockdown didn’t mean a vacation from school. PSAs and other media announcements made this plain and clear,” the Minister informed.

He stated that the decision to hold exams was not an easy one and that the Ministry recognized that these were unprecedented times, as was often been stated.

The Minister also noted that there is and has been a lot of anxiety, disruption, stress and other disturbing variances introduced into the psyche of the Bahamian student and their family by the Virus that has nearly shut down the entire globe.

“Despite a Virtual School, that has seen registration reach over 48,000 students, and an average of 20,000 engaged daily, there are still many students who do not have a device or the internet, and would, necessarily, have been deprived of the benefit of continuing school. We understand that, and have made every effort to accommodate them,” the Minister acknowledged.

To mitigate the disadvantages, the Ministry contracted with Cable Bahamas to broadcast educational materials for Grades 9 and 12 students preparing for the BJC and BGCSE Exams respectively.

He said that it was not an easy decision to make and there have been many weeks of internal external discussions, consultations, and debate with internal and external stakeholders including the Bahamas Union of Teachers, Bahamas Educators Managerial Union and the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools about whether to move forward or not.

“At the end of the day, the Ministry’s guiding principle is the best interest of the Student: Especially, students in Grades 9 and 12, at this time,” Minister Lloyd stated.

THE MINISTER LAID OUT A COMPREHENSIVE BASIS FOR THE MINISTRY’S DECISION:

• From the very date that school suspended face-to-face instructions, I, as Minister, and We as a Ministry, impressed upon our students that this time is not a vacation. You are still in school, We told them, and that you must continue your school work. This was communicated across all media platforms including public service announcements.

• Additionally, We also directed them to register on the Ministry’s Virtual School Platform so that they could participate in recorded or ‘live’ lessons as they wished.

• As of last week Thursday, 48,591 Students registered on the VS

• 40,246 Public School Students. This out of a total PS Population of 46,000. 86% • 8,000+ Private and Home-Schooled students.

• Of that number, some 18-21,000 accessed the VS daily to participate in either recorded or ‘live’ sessions or both.

• This does not include the many thousands of students who were registered on independent platforms by public and private school teachers.

• So virtual learning has filled admirably the unfortunate deficit the educational system suffered as a result of the Coronavirus situation across the globe, and in this country.

• There are 66,000 pre-, primary and secondary school students in this country. If 48, 000+ were registered on the Virtual School, and many thousands of others on an independent platform, then the education system has done, quite an admirable job in ensuring that Bahamians students continue to receive vital instructions in their educational pursuit. While it does not replace faceto-face instructions, in this situation, its hard to argue that it wasn’t or isn’t a very acceptable alternative.

• In our discussions with our stakeholders, we all agreed that June 12 would be the drop dead date for final decision.

• Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait that long, because the Competent Authority announced Phase Three last Thursday (June 4th.)

FACTORS:

1. Exams are VOLUNTARY. No One is COMPELLED to take the Exams. Also, there are a number of 12th grade students who await the chance to obtain their Graduation Diploma, by making up the missing exams they need.

International Universities use the BGCSE Exam Results to determine eligibility. However, normally the BGCSE exams are used as the criteria for admission to UB. UB is permitting students to enter this year on the basis of their last 3 years of high school, They still must pass a placement exam to gain entrance. Students who have Math and English Language BGCSE's at grade C will be exempted from the Placement Test.

2. There are many students that, if they do not take the exams this year, will never take them. Also, there are some schools where students ONLY TAKE the National Exams in Grade 12. If they miss it this year, it is unlikely that they would return next year to take them.

3. The majority of Bahamian students, who leave grade 12, do not go onto college. They go to work. For them, the credentials of an external exam is VITAL as they would need these exams to enter the workforce. Five or Ten years from now, no one may care or remember that we had COVID in 2020. Then, how will these individuals stack up against other jobs applicants?

4. Students' last day of face-to-face instruction was March 13, 2020. The BGCSE English Aural (Listening) Comprehension which is usually the first exam would have started in April. This indicates that students would have lost only a few weeks of instruction. During this time (March 13- Aural Comprehension) no new information is taught. This is a time for review.

5. For the Students who don’t feel prepared, there WILL BE Refresher Courses, which the Ministry will continue to provide – both face-to-face, and through the Virtual school. Students can avail themselves of any or all of it. If they don’t have internet or a device, they can use devices in the Computer Labs at their school or any other school. Please sign up. There is no cost to use it. It is free.