ministryofeducationbahamas

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.”

Twenty-one-year-old Omar Davis Jr is the country’s latest murder victim who was found dead in the trunk of a Honda Fit vehicle, stuffed in a garbage bag.

Police said he was discovered at the rear of the Centerville Food store and sustained wounds to the head, face and upper body. It is believed he was likely dead for 24 hours since his body was in the early stages of decomposition.

Who was Omar Davis Jr?

Omar graduated this year from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, after receiving a scholarship from the Ministry of Education Public School Scholars Programme, where he graduated with a double major in Accounts and Finance.

Omar celebrated a grade point average of 4.0 after graduation when he returned to the Bahamas.

A video of his personal story of triumph went viral in 2018 when he thanked MOE officials for the scholarship. He highlighted the tragedy of losing his father to murder and his push for improvement despite his upbringing.

His father was murdered and shot nine times at their home as he watched on, in 2013. Months later his cousin was also killed, just streets away from where he lived in the Kemp Road area. Despite the challenges, he graduated valedictorian of CI Gibson Senior High School in 2017.

What are people saying?

Many people took to social media to express shock at his death.

Devita Bethel said he was well loved. “The funniest, smartest, intelligent, smooth dressing and handsome kid on the block. I’m lost for words,” she said.

Tre Kaleista said, “He sacrificed. He persevered. He was educated. He followed the right path. Yet he is now a statistic.”

Another social media user Destiny Francis said, “You left without a warning. Growing up was always a ball, doing things we shouldn’t. I’m going to miss you so much.”

What was next for Omar Davis Jr?

Upon his return to the Bahamas after graduation in May, Omar interned at an accounting firm. He was expected to travel to Atlanta on Saturday to begin intern at Deloitte.

Now police are investigating who killed him and why. Police have not revealed whether or not he sustained gunshot or stab wounds, but they revealed they are following significant leads.

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 the Bahamas Union of Teachers Belinda Wilson says she is in no way surprised by the results of the 2020 national exams that worsened when compared to 2019.

Why it matters

• Fewer students received A, B, and C grades and more students received D, E, F and G grades, and the results show that the overall number of candidates that sat the exam, were lower when compared to 2019.

The big picture

• BUT President Belinda Wilson and the Ministry have been in a squabble over when students should sit the BJC and BGCE examinations. She lobbied for the national exams to be cancelled, and for the MOE to award students predictive grades. However, MOE insisted that students sit the national exams for 2020 to help with employment and college entrance.

What Belinda Wilson says

Wilson predicts that the 2020/2021 exams will be worst due to the “educational gap” that was widened because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She says the interruptions, challenged virtual platform, the late start for the school year, the incomplete 2021 syllables, and the ministry’s inability to reach the nearly 14,000 students who never attended the virtual learning, will produce worse results in 2021.

She asks, “What changes have been put in place to ensure that the 2020-2021 exams will not be a repeat of 2020? What policies will be adopted based on the data of the exam results? The results show that girls outperformed boys. So what new program will be executed to assist boys? Will the ministry continue with the status quo?”

The good news

• Of the 27 subjects tested, there was improved performance in 15 of them, including auto mechanics, biology, bookkeeping and accounts, chemistry, clothing construction, combined science, commerce, economics, electrical installation, food and nutrition, graphical communication, history, music, office procedures and Spanish.
• Performances in English language and literature remained unchanged, according to the ministry.
• More than 80 percent of the grades awarded continues to range from A-E.
• Performances improved in English language, mathematics, art, craft study, family and consumer science and literature, with the performance in general science remaining the same.

In what has become a disappointing first day of school, technical difficulties befell the start of the 2020 school year.

Students and teachers were unable to access the Ministry of Education’s online learning portal.

For about six hours users were greeted with “undergoing maintenance…we’re doing some work on the site and will be back shortly.”

The cause?

Officials of the Ministry of Education issued a statement late Tuesday evening saying the department of education experienced “some technical issues,” preventing access to the Learning Management System.

When will the situation be fixed?

The ministry said One on One and Amazon Web Services, the companies responsible for hosting the platform are working to fix the technical issues, and said it is hoped the challenges are addressed quickly.

What did the Teachers Union President say?

Belinda Wilson said teachers were not notified by the ministry of the technical challenges.

She advised teachers that if the issue persists on Wednesday, they should log on to the system, take a photo of the web page, sign-in at the school’s register and sign out at 12noon.

It is hoped that the online portal will be running by 9 am on Wednesday. If not, schools may choose to continue with the Zoom platform.

It was back-to-school for thousands of students, but they encountered connectivity issues with the Ministry of Education’s online learning portal, on their first day.

As teachers and students attempted to sign in, they were greeted with a sign that read, “Undergoing maintenance. Thank you for being patient. We’re doing some work on the site and will be back shortly.”

As of three o’clock, the end of a school day, the ministry had not yet issued a notice or press release informing users of the connectivity issues.

Complaints flood in

Parents took to social media to vent their frustration, as they chronicled the agony of signing on their children for the first day of school.

Monica Sawyer said, “Mr. Minister, this ain’t working.”

Dedrie Hamilton who has three school-aged children said, ” I have three kids in school–grades 12, 10 and 5. No luck with MOE. It’s really frustrating.”

And Adreanna Martin said, “I been trying to get on, still nothing is happening.”

Teachers resort to Zoom

Anticipating issues with the new online portal, the Redcross Center for the Deaf used the Zoom platform to engage its students.

The school tested the platform last week for its students and decided to continue its use for the month of October.

A teacher who wanted to remain anonymous said her school did not get an update from the ministry on the use of the online virtual portal nor did teachers receive training on its use, so her school resorted to Zoom, a tried and true platform that has arisen in popularity since the onset of the pandemic.

Ministry says it will fix the problem

When CSJ Report called the ministry, a secretary said technicians were working to rectify the problem. She said her office has been bombarded with calls from concern parents were trying to log on but were unable to do so. The secretary said teachers have uploaded assignments to the portal but students are unable to access them due to an issue “on our side.” The issue is expected to be addressed by Thursday morning.

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

Over the weekend, the Ministry of Education issued a statement refuting claims posted on social media that its recent purchase of tablets for online learning is incompatible with the Zoom platform.

The Ministry of Education called attention to the post and labelled it “fake news” stating that it “has not purchased any devices that were not compatible with its platform.”

Their press statement goes on to say all of its devices, including the donated devices, are being used “in the management of school operations in the collection of data in the field and on our Office 365 Platform for the creation and sharing of documents.”

What are the claims by the social media user and did the Ministry of Education address the concerns?

The post tweeted by Latrae Rahming, a former press secretary in the Christie administration, claimed that the Ministry of Education  spent millions of dollars on computer tablets for virtual learning, finding out later that “the tablets were incompatible with the Zoom platform.”

Rahming claimed that because of this, the tablets “could not be used.”

When the Ministry fought back, it did not mention the tablets’ compatibility for the Zoom platform which shot to fame during the coronavirus lockdowns, becoming a leading platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars.

However, the Ministry of Education stated that the tablets were compatible for its Office 365 platform.

What are the claims by teachers?

A few teachers in response to the post, have agreed with Rahming, claiming that tablets are not compatible with Zoom.

One claiming to be an educator said, “It’s definitely not fake news.”

Another said, “…attempted to access all mentioned in this document with no success.”

President of Bahamas Union of Teachers Belinda Wilson in a spat with the Education Minister Jeffrey Lloyd, told the Tribune that Lloyd “needs to make sure that schools throughout the Bahamas have reliable internet access, teachers have laptops and not tablets that are incompatible with Zoom platform.”

How many tablets were distributed?

Jeff Lloyd, in a report to the country last month, said his Ministry distributed 9,000 tablets to students in grades K–3 and seeks to assist more students in the lower primary level.

He said digital devices such as tablets, laptops, and projectors were distributed to
pre-school and lower primary schools on New Providence, Eleuthera, Exuma, Long Island, Cat Island, South Andros, Acklins, San Salvador, Mayaguana and East Grand Bahama.

Lloyd added that approximately 500 school administrators have received devices in the
form of tablets, due to the Ministry’s partnership with BTC. Additionally, all teachers have access to a device along with high-speed internet connectivity on their school’s campus.

Since then, private partners have donated tablets to the Ministry.

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.