glennyshannamartin

The son of controversial Principal Olivia Daxon is defending his mother after a scuffle erupted at the emergency school meeting as teachers of Thelma Gibson Primary School continue to seek her dismissal.

Timothy Daxon took to social media to condemn the media for its “manipulation of the public’s perspective of my mother” after the Eye Witness News broadcasted a brawl with the sister and some teachers at the school after the meeting.

He said, “What’s amazing to me is that Eye Witness News Bahamas is carrying this one-sided story as far as they can…Not once has our side of the story been asked about or broadcasted.

“My mother’s name has been dragged through the mud for weeks, due to fake news.

“Teachers at Thelma Gibson Primary are blatantly lying on my mother,” he said.

Timothy said he and his sister showed up to the meeting to support Daxon since so many opposed her.

Principal Daxon made headlines in recent weeks as teachers protested outside the Office of the Prime Minister demanding her removal because of her “leadership, behavior and conduct” as claimed by Belinda Wilson, President of the Bahamas Union of Teachers. 

Teacher Kathyann Duncombe said Daxon destroyed the culture at the school and victimized teachers, adding that 402 parents signed a petition to remove her.

Teachers have since refused to show up for work and on Friday evening during the meeting, ministry officials petitioned them to return to the classroom.

Alesha Hart, an attendee at the meeting which later turned chaotic, said officials are not doing enough to resolve the debacle at the school.

“The Minister and the Ministry of Education have been non-leaders in this saga. There was no resolution but one, ‘teachers return to the class.’”

She appealed for Education Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin to do more.

“Your relentless reference this evening to ‘due process’ was fallacious. Leadership is a verb. If you were in demonstration of leadership the principal and teacher would have been relocated for the development of the cohesive school environment.”

Hanna-Martin questioned the premise of the petition. “These are disputed facts,” she told the media. “We are looking for orderly resolution.”

As COVID-19 rage across the globe and health officials worry that Omicron could be in the country, the Ministry of Health announced that the reopening of private and public schools will be delayed another two weeks after the Christmas break.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Health and Wellness Minister Michael Darville said though schools were expected to reopen fully on January 11, officials deferred the face-to-face learning.

“In our view, it is not a good thing to reopen schools in the middle of a pandemic. We will wait and act with a degree of caution. When we open, we will open to stay open,” he said.

Big story

The reopening of schools sparked a public debate during the pandemic.  Schools in the country have been shut to face-to-face learning for nearly two years as the country battled the pandemic.

The Ministry of Health implemented a hybrid learning format to accommodate students’ learning. However, some students were being left behind and not logging onto the virtual platform.

Why it matters

The country is in the fourth wave of the pandemic, battling a spur of daily, new cases. Officials believe the Omicron virus is the country though not confirmed. They are awaiting lab results from Panama.

They have ruled New Providence as the epicenter of the virus and the crux of the sharp increase in cases is in the capital.

Christmas day, a record, breaking number of 330 cases were reported, which was a combination of cases over a few days.  85 cases were recorded on December 26; 159 cases on December 27; 65 cases on December 28;

What Minister of Education Glenny’s Hanna Martin says

Newly-appointed Minister of Education Glennys Hanna-Martin said her ministry accelerated works to quickly reopen schools, but the pandemic halted its plans.

She said the ministry will act on the advice of health officials.

“We will monitor it, come back to the table, assess where we are. That’s where we are at this moment.”

State of Play

All schools including preschools and daycares will continue virtual learning after the Christmas break.

Eight members of the Cabinet were sworn in on Monday afternoon to serve as ministers in the Davis-led administration.

Prime Minister Philip Davis said they will “deliver the party’s promise of a new day.”

1. Fred Mitchell–Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is an outspoken member of the PLP and was party chairman. He served in the Perry Christie administration in the same position in 2012. When the PLP lost in 2017, he lost his seat but was appointed PLP senator.
2. Glennys Hanna-Martin–Minister of Education and Vocational Training. She has been a longtime member of the PLP, having served in the Christie administration in 2012 as Minister of Transport and Aviation. The party lost in 2017, but she retained her seat and was one of four PLPs who returned to the Parliament as the opposition.
3. Michael Darville–Minister of Health. He was the MP for Pineridge and Minister of Grand Bahama in 2012 in the Christie administration. When his party lost, he became a PLP senator.
4. Michael Halkitis–Minister of Economic Affairs and Leader of Government Business in the Senate. He lost to the FNM in the 2021 election. He served in the Christie administration as the Minister of State for Finance in 2012.
5. Clay Sweeting–Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs. He ran against FNM MP Ricky Martin in 2017 and lost. The fisherman was then appointed a PLP senator in the Upper Chamber.
6. Alfred Sears–Minister of Works and Utilities. He was the Member of Parliament for Fort Charlotte from 2000 to 2012 and served in the Christie administration. He lost his seat to the FNM in 2017. He once served as Minister of Education and as Attorney General in the Christie administration.
7. Wayne Munroe–Minister of National Security. He is a prominent lawyer. He ran in 2017 for the PLP but lost to the FNM. He was also a former DNA member.
8. Jomo Campbell–Minister of State for Legal Affairs. He is new to politics and is believed to be a lawyer in Wayne Munroe’s office.

Davis said his Cabinet “will move with urgency, that this moment requires.”

Governor-General C.A Smith asked that the country “set aside differences until next five years.” He added, “Don’t worry about tomorrow. Let’s unite and together make a better Bahamas.”