education

Fifty-eight dollars and thirty-three cents is reportedly the monthly increase a classroom teacher receives upon being promoted to senior master, senior mistress or edication officer in the public school system.

On paper, it is a promotion, but in reality, does it feel like one?

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology this week celebrated the promotion of several educators, describing the appointments as part of its effort to strengthen school leadership, fill administrative vacancies and improve morale across the public education system.

Those objectives are important. Every successful school depends on strong leadership, but leadership also comes with a price.

Unlike classroom teachers, senior masters and senior mistresses generally work longer hours, remain on duty throughout the summer, carry significant administrative responsibilities and serve as the bridge between teachers, principals, parents and the ministry.

The role demands more accountability, paperwork, meetings and pressure.

Yet according to education union officials, the additional compensation is just $58.33 per month.

How does the Bahamas value leadership in education?

Promotion has traditionally represented more than a new title, because it signals experience, professional growth and recognition.

It tells educators that years of service, advanced qualifications and leadership potential have been rewarded. But when the financial difference is measured in mere dollars and cents rather than hundreds, that begins to fade.

The discussion became even more troubling when Bahamas Educators Management Union President Stephen McPhee revealed that some newly promoted administrators have yet to receive even that increase because their employment records have not been updated while serving in administration capacity.

For some, significant retroactive payments remain outstanding.

That means some educators are already carrying additional responsibilities while continuing to receive their previous teacher salary.

Across the public sector, governments often encourage professional development, higher qualifications and career advancement. But advancement must remain meaningful.

If promotions demand significantly greater responsibility without meaningful improvement in compensation, they risk becoming less attractive to the very people the system hopes to retain.

That creates a long-term challenge. Who will become tomorrow’s leaders in education?

Experienced teachers already face growing demands inside the classroom. If moving into administration requires sacrificing evenings, summers and work-life balance for little financial reward, many may reasonably decide the promotion is not worth pursuing.

The figure of $58.33 demonstrates how leadership in education is perceived and how experience is rewarded.

For years, Antoine Duncombe stood in front of classrooms teaching students. But behind the lessons, the preparation and the dedication was another reality familiar to many educators— the struggle to feel valued in a profession built on sacrifice.

Last month, Duncombe opened a national conversation when he spoke publicly in mainstream media and on social media about the financial challenges facing teachers in the Bahamas.

His message was a person’s salary should reflect their skills, qualifications, experience and contribution.

“Teachers in the Bahamas are expected to shape the nation’s future, yet far too many are trying to survive on salaries that simply do not match the demands or responsibilities of the profession,” he wrote to social media.

His words resonated with educators across the country.

Many shared stories of leaving the education system for better opportunities. Others spoke about the difficulty of balancing a passion for teaching with the reality of rising living costs and financial responsibilities.

Duncombe, an educator with more than 11 years of experience, was honest about his own journey.

As a male educator, he said the current salary structure made it increasingly difficult to build the kind of future many professionals aspire to have.

He even shared his resume publicly, seeking opportunities that reflected what he believed his experience and qualifications were worth.

The response was overwhelming. Duncombe said he received numerous offers after sharing his resume.

But in the end, he remains in education. He is returning to the school environment in a new role — as a Senior Master for the 2026 school term, he announced in a social media post.

Duncombe was among several educators who officially received their letters of promotion, marking the start of a new chapter in their careers ahead of the 2026 school year.

Following news of his appointment, Duncombe shared a message of confidence.

“I don’t compete for space, I own mine,” he wrote. “I walk into every room with confidence, not arrogance. I know who I am, what I bring, and the value I carry.”

His message continued: “Never dim your light to make someone else shine brighter. Take your seat. Use your voice. Own your space.”

“Promotion comes from God! No other words,” he said.

Family and friends are grieving the sudden loss of a guidance counselor killed in a car crash off Queen’s Highway, Eleuthera on Friday.

“I am in complete disbelief and feel completely broken. I don’t know what else to say,” best friend D’Licia Taylor said.

Chara Major, a resident of Tarpum Bay, was killed after 5 pm in Salt Bluff when her grey Nissan Note hit a Casuarina tree. Images circulating social media show extensive damage to the vehicle from which she had to be extricated.

Taylor who was also her makeup artist remembers her infectious smile. “It’s hard to say goodbye. It’s really bad and I’m trying. I have so many questions…How am I supposed to do your brows, which lipstick you want…No more nothing? That smile and that grin…I just don’t know.”

The 27-year-old guidance counselor was recently posted at three primary schools in Eleuthera last year September–Emily G. Petty Primary, Emma Cooper Primary and James Cistern Primary Schools–where teachers said she “truly loved what she did and cherished her students and colleagues.”

Minister of Education Glenys Hanna-Martin expressed her sympathies on social media, describing Major’s death as “tremendous loss to the nation.”

After her tragic death, family members were trying to locate one of her beloved pet dogs named Tavari which she often took with her to makeup appointments. Her aunt Anthea Karagiannis said the dog was apparently removed from an apartment where she lived on the island.

“Tafari is a member of our family and we are further distraught to learn that we can not locate [him].”

Major graduated from St John’s College in Nassau, studied psychology at Winston Salem State University and soon returned home to begin her career, which was short-lived.

School is back in session but teachers are worrying about one more thing besides lesson planning: hot classrooms with no air conditioning which makes teaching and learning near impossible.

Teachers took to social media to vent their frustrations and to plead for fans to cool their sweltering classrooms.

A teacher at Huntley Christie High School in North Andros, Antoine Duncombe said, “Ain’t no way learning can take place. The sun just feels like it’s sitting on earth this time around. These classrooms are hotter than before with two or three working ceiling fans, out of the six.

“This is not conditions teachers and students should have to bare…Please donate three fans for my classroom… We burning up and I out here dressed up daily in shirt and tie.”

Many classrooms in public schools hold approximately 30 students, making it difficult for natural air to blow through the room. And, many classrooms have only ceiling fans which may be inoperable.

It is common for some teachers to purchase fans, but they do nothing to beat the intolerable heat.

A teacher at C.H. Reeves Junior High in New Providence D’Metria Smith begged for assistance from social media users.  “This heat is criminal. Please donate four fans to my classroom.”

In another post, she implored again, “I need four fans please,” as Sharell Edwards of Anatol Rodgers High School solicited an air conditioning unit because “the heat is vicious.”

Cameron Hanna, a teacher in Grand Bahama, described his classroom as “a sauna.”

Classrooms are becoming hotter as global temperatures rise, which can have a dire effect on learning. Summer months are particularly hotter with daytime temperatures reaching about 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

A teacher at Eight Mile Rock High School in Grand Bahama, Prisca Hunt, asked, “Dear Mr Prime Minister, how are we teachers supposed to go the extra mile you requested of us in these scorching, inferno, sauna-degrees classrooms?”

And Canovia Ferguson requested that the government “provide comfortable classrooms for our students–classrooms in which our students can concentrate on what the teacher is saying rather than fighting to sit in front of one of the two fans in the class which was purchased by the teacher by the way.”

Some social media users responded favorably, pledging to donate fans to teachers.

The weather seems to be hotter than in past summers and government may have to consider a new type of cooling unit to ensure comfortable classrooms for learning to take place.

A teacher’s complaint spread across social media resulting in a new desk for her classroom.

Francheska McBride is a teacher who had an old desk sitting on two blocks since 2016, she claimed. As school was scheduled to reopen last week, she took to social media to vent her frustrations.

“Come to work they said. Everything is fixed they said. But yet my desk on blocks and it been like this since 2016.”

McBride’s comment sparked reaction from her followers, many appalled by the condition of the teacher’s desk.

“This is sad,” Rufus Emmanuel said.

Branell Thurston joined the chorus. “If a teacher decides to go to work in this condition that’s on him or her. No way should this be in a classroom. That’s for rodents in a dump.”

The social media post caught the attention of the Ministry of Education which gifted her with a new desk for the new school year.

McBride celebrated the new desk, expressing gratitude to the Minister of State for Education Zane Lightbourne.

“Thank you…for supplying me with a new desk and chair. This is greatly appreciated. I was too excited. Thank you, thank you.”

Her social media followers were also happy with her new desk.

Tess Amor said, “Facebook powerful I must say.”

Kenderia Nairn posted, “Only when you complain is when you see change.”

Andrea Coleby said, “Wow this was quick. Happy for you hun. Lemme go post that I poor. If yal share it they may send me some money.”

Semaj Bunch simply exclaimed, “Awesome.”

President of Bahamas Union of Teachers Belinda Wilson threatens industrial action if the Ministry of Education does not present a clear plan of its reopening procedures, as public schools begin the new school year on Monday.

In a voice note, Wilson said,”They (education officials) keep sending me the guidelines (health and safety) for the Ministry of Environmental Health. We’re asking how the Ministry of Environmental Health guidelines equate to what happens in schools.

“So it seems, the only language the education officials understand is industrial action.”

She said after six months of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, confusion and uncertainty about the health and safety protocols for teachers and students still loom.

Schools with recent COVID-19 cases on campus according to Wilson

Wilson said these schools were recently reported:

• R.M Bailey High School
• Anatol Rodgers School
• Carlton E. Francis Primary School
• Willard Patton Preschool
• Albury Sayles Primary School
• A.F Adderley Junior High
• C.H. Reeves Junior School

Belinda Wilson wants a seat at the table

Wilson wants the Minister of Education Jeffrey Lloyd, Permanent Secretary Lorraine Armbrister and Director Marcellus Taylor “to mature.”

She is calling on them to meet with the union to agree to a workable plan for the reopening of schools, adding that other issues plague the system since schools will reopen using a digital platform.

Digital challenges claimed by Wilson

• challenges with the tablets
• internet connection
• curriculum content on the platform
• teachers can not log on to the platform for training

Belinda’s rocky relationship with education officials may hamper other discussions

Wilson’s relationship with Director Marcellus Taylor is known to be rocky, but her relationship has recently hit a rough spot with the education minister when Lloyd said Wilson sent him WhatsApp messages containing the words “f— y’all.”

Lloyd said his ministry will not hold discussions with Wilson until she apologizes and stops behaving in a “disrespectful and insulting” manner.

Lloyd told reporters that his ministry has tried its best to work with Wilson but to no avail as her actions have threatened the quality of education for Bahamian students.

Featured Image: Tribune

A roofing expert slipped and fell to his death on Tuesday afternoon, following work on the roof of Jack Hayward High School.

Reports are that 43-year-old Eltoro Ian Johnson was working on the roof of the school at about 3pm, when he lost footing due to rain.

He was exiting the roof when he slipped and fell.

Johnson was transported to the hospital, but later died.

The Minister of Education Jeffrey Lloyd extended condolences to Johnson’s family.

Opposition Senator Michael Darville is calling on MICAL MP Miriam Emmanuel to stand up and say something on the issue involving the amalgamation of the school system in Mayaguana.

“It is interesting that in the face of all of this, the duly elected member for MICAL has not made a public intervention and remains silent to date.”

Darville said combining the primary and secondary public schools in Mayaguana is “a regressive education policy and a move backwards to the outdated ‘all age school’ education system.”

He said Education Minister Jeff Lloyd is ignoring the cries of the community, but he awaits Emmanuel’s response to the plight of her constituents.

What happened to the school system in Mayaguana?

Education officials closed the public schools, Abraham’s Bay High School and Pirates Well Primary school to combine the education system on the southern island.

Lloyd said this was the best move and Education Director Marcellus Taylor agreed, saying it allows for all teachers to teach on one site instead of leaving to teach at the other building.

Taylor said this new move will improve teaching and learning on the island as enrollment decreases.

Abraham’s Bay High School would become the administration building.

Where would the schools be relocated?

The schools will be relocated to the proposed refurbished site in Pirate’s Well which is the Lodge Hall building.

Teachers Union Leader Belinda Wilson said the government should pause the move until all parties come to an agreement. She described the lodge building as “dilapidated.”

Darville said the building is inadequate, not COVID-19 compliant and believes the refurbishment cannot be completed in time for school opening.

What do parents want?

On August 7^th, parents and students held a protest, demanding that the schools remain as is, saying it allows for social distancing in an era of COVID-19.

One mother said the settlement of Betsy Bay was crippled by the closure.