Education

Nearly 500 Students To Learn About Financial Literacy

Close to 500 students are participating in the pilot phase of the Ministry of Energy and Business’ National Financial Literacy Expansion Programme, which has been launched in seven secondary and six primary schools.

And, National Coordinator of the Ministry’s financial literacy initiative, David Simpson, said there has been a great response from the educators and Class 2 and Second Form students to the programme, which will continue into part of Term 3.

“So far, the responses from the principals and teachers I have spoken to have been overwhelming. They are very happy the programme has finally reached the schools, and the students have exhibited high levels of interest and knowledge of money. In their sessions, some of them have been talking about what we use money for, payment systems, and they are quite knowledgeable.

“As one principal said, and I concurred, it is important to plant those seeds and to guide them accordingly, and by the time the children get to secondary school or become young adults, we should start to see the benefits,” Mr. Simpson stated.

He explained that after the pilot phase, Government would be rolling out the programme in all of the schools and hopefully at all year levels over the next two to three years.

However, Mr. Simpson pointed out that there has been great interest in financial literacy from other schools.

“A few schools have already requested a few presentations for their senior students who will be graduating in Term 3, and I will facilitate them in the next few months,” he shared.

“Financial literacy refers to individuals possessing skills and knowledge on financial matters that enable them to confidently take effective action that best fulfils their personal, family, business, and community goals.“

Financial literacy refers to individuals possessing skills and knowledge on financial matters that enable them to confidently take effective action that best fulfils their personal, family, business, and community goals.

The Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) Co-operative Credit Union Limited is partnering with the Ministry on the National Financial Literacy Expansion Programme for schools. Its Chief Executive Officer, Alana Cadogan, stressed the importance of this initiative, saying “the earlier you start to understand and use various financial skills, the more successful you will be”.

Ms. Cadogan continued: “This programme will be the key to future generations of Barbadians making sound financial decisions that increase their chances of achieving financial freedom and success…. The BWU Credit Union is keen to ensure our youth can reap the rewards of saving, budgeting, financing, investing, and creating generational wealth. This programme aligns perfectly with our strategy to encourage, support, and educate our youth in good money management techniques.”

*Facilitator Tianna Maycock looking over the Primary School Financial Literacy Workbook of Wilke Cumberbatch students*

Principal of St. Leonard’s Boys’ School, Peter Cox, described the exercise as “a useful…and important one”. He proffered the view that “we need to become more…knowledgeable, then proficient (in financial literacy), and the best place to start that is the home. If the home can’t provide that, then the next place is school, and as early in the school cycle as possible”.

Mr. Cox stated that within the financial literacy exercise, seeds were being planted which would mature.

“I am happy about this exercise; I was anticipating it and I am glad it is here. I am hopeful that it is going to bear fruit, not just for the individual and the community, but for the country as well,” the principal stressed.

Class 2 teacher at the Wilkie Cumberbatch Primary School, Keneita Naitram, said initially she was uncertain about how the financial literacy training would work for the young children. However, she stressed that children spending money at certain events had now convinced her that the activity was timely.

“This would be a very good programme for them to learn from a young age to put aside money to save, so they can have a better relationship with money…. If they develop good money spending habits from this age, then as they get older, they would take those things they learnt, continue with them, and hopefully they would not struggle as much as some…adults are struggling. So, I think it is very useful”,” Ms. Naitram stated.”

Class 2 teacher at the Wilkie Cumberbatch Primary School, Keneita Naitram.

“This would be a very good programme for them to learn from a young age to put aside money to save, so they can have a better relationship with money…. If they develop good money spending habits from this age, then as they get older, they would take those things they learnt, continue with them, and hopefully they would not struggle as much as some…adults are struggling. So, I think it is very useful,” Ms. Naitram stated.

She sat in on the first session last week, and said it was “very interesting”, “practical”, and “a fun experience”, as the children had an opportunity to design their own money and discuss denominations. She added that in the discussions with the financial literacy facilitators, the children looked at the pros and cons of increasing the banknotes.

Ms. Naitram expressed the view that the financial literacy knowledge would help the children in their Mathematics classes when they examine money on the curriculum.

CAPTION: National Coordinator of the Ministry of Energy and Business’ financial literacy initiative, David Simpson, explaining the importance of financial literacy to 2nd Form students of the St. Leonard’s Boys’ School

Education

Erdiston Recognises Top Students Ahead Of Graduation Ceremony

The Erdiston Teachers’ Training College has announced its top students preceding this year’s graduation ceremony scheduled for Saturday, May 17, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

The seven top students (five females and two males) are as follows:

Shaunette Small – Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Leadership
Richelle Vaughan – Diploma in Education (Primary)
Krystal Byer – Technical and Vocational Teachers’ Training Programme (Adult Education)
Shamel Edwards – Bachelors in Education (Primary)
Nicole Lynch – Postgraduate Diploma in Special Education
Keandre Doughty – In-Service Certificate (Physical Education)
Rollinson Wiggins -Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Secondary)

In an interview, valedictorian Shaunette Small shared that she pursued her Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Leadership after being promoted as a Senior Teacher at the Daryll Jordan Secondary school.

“I believe it was necessary for me to get some of the skills, especially communication and interacting with staff, in order to benefit the students. So, my main goal was that the course would help me to get along with the teachers and to show me how to work with them.

“I’m a hard worker. I believe in lifelong learning. I love to study. Before coming to Erdiston Teachers’ Training College, I heard a lot of teachers in the past speak about their experiences and how they would not come back, and I am going to tell you some of those teachers were sitting at my table in the programme, and they have all changed their minds.”

The valedictorian shared that the tutors were caring and supportive and taught her and her colleagues to realise that all teachers in the classroom are leaders, not only the principal. She added: “As long as you stand before children and you want to make a change, you are a leader.”

Ms. Small continued: “As we move on with our transformation in education, it is important that whatever we do in the classroom, we sit back, and we look. How are the children learning? Are we really making a difference in the classroom?

“All children can learn, and they are there to learn, and it is our duty as educators to ensure that whatever we do is for the benefit of the children and not for ourselves.”

She explained that children who are treated with love, and shown support, will succeed. “In every child…in each child, there is something positive, but you have to search for it. I endorse everything that the education system stands for. There is need for a transformation, but it’s up to us, the leaders, the teachers and the stakeholders to ensure that our children, at the end of the day, will benefit and succeed as much as they can.

“We are preparing children to be global leaders wherever they go, and it is up to us to ensure that at the end of the day we can sit back and say, I am pleased; I am proud of what I did because those will be the legacy that we have for the future,” Ms. Small stated. (PR/GIS)

Caption: Outstanding students of the Erdiston Teachers’ Training College’s 2025 graduating class (from left to right)Valedictorian Shaunette Small; Shamel Edwards; Richelle Vaughan; Krystal Byer; Keandre Doughty; and Rollinson Wiggins. Missing is Nicole Lynch.

Education

National Library Service’s (NLS) “Radio Bimshire: Voice of the National Library Service Barbados” Launched

Barbadians here and in the diaspora now have the opportunity to hear narrated stories about this island’s history and ‘characters’ through the National Library Service’s (NLS) “Radio Bimshire: Voice of the National Library Service Barbados” audio online platform.

The platform was launched today at the NLS’ Fairchild Street headquarters.

Director of the NLS, Jennifer Yarde, and its former Deputy Director, Evonda Callender, encouraged all Barbadians to listen to the stories and expressed how happy they were to have reached such a significant milestone in preserving and sharing Barbados’ oral history.

Ms. Yarde stated that “Radio Bimshire emerges as a bold new chapter” in the NLS’ offerings, where persons can listen to the lived experiences of people from every parish and walk of life. She said the audio platform, https://bit.ly/radiobimshire, offers free online access to these stories while promoting digital literacy and inclusivity.

“It is more than a streaming platform; it is a cultural sunscape built to honour, preserve, and share the spoken word legacy of Barbados, from the market vendors in Bridgetown to the elders recalling village life, from the rhythms of the tuk band to the recollections of the historic moments of the 1937 disturbances. Radio Bimshire turns these stories into a living archive. Now, through streaming and podcast, people from all over the world can connect with Barbados’ culture anytime, anywhere,” the Director said.

She also stressed that sharing Barbados’ oral history is important in understanding its heritage and identity.

“It is through our oral history that we hear not just about great national events, but about how ordinary people lived, worked, celebrated, mourned, and made meaning of their world. It could be a formal interview, or it could be a story passed down from generations, from folklore to family stories. Oral history is how we always make sense of our world, or pass on what matters most,” Ms. Yarde stated.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Callender explained how the information was gathered for “Radio Bimshire”.

She disclosed that in 1986, while at the NLS conducting interviews for its oral history project, she felt it was important to have first-hand recorded accounts from persons on subject matters of historical significance, including the 1937 Riots, the Constitutional Conference, the train service to Belleplaine, St. Andrew, and the process of turning flour bags into clothing.

Ms. Callender said: “We went out to collect and preserve the history of Barbados, … the real history of Barbados, without sugarcoating or hiding important details, in all its formats, whether it was popular or unpopular, it needed to be said.”

The former Deputy Director stated that the NLS should continue to carry out its mandate of collecting, preserving, retrieving, and providing in-depth information in all formats to enrich, empower, and inform the public, especially on the history of Barbados.

“We need to collect it. We need to gather it; it’s going to be controversial, … but we are the library. We have no political alliance to no one. What you’re supposed to do is collect the history of the country in every format, both print and non-print, and make it available to all the generations to come. The library’s mission is to collect the heritage of Barbados in all formats, whether it’s from a rum shop, whether it is a brothel, wherever it is you go, collect it,” Ms. Callender stressed.

People who visit the website will hear recordings such as Dumplings in De Stew – One For The Road, Ossie Moore stories, and others written by Jeanette Layne-Clarke and Addington Forde, and narrated by Alfred Pragnell, Marvo Manning, Tony Thompson, and others.

The NLS aims to upload more content soon to the site on the History of Barbados, including the 1937 Riots, events during the 1940s and 1950s, the Birth of Adventism in Barbados, and more, as told by the late historians Dr. Karl Watson, Trevor Marshall, and Professor Pedro Welch. (PR/GIS)

Caption: West Terrace Primary student, Yuri Nicholls, performed the “ceremonial turning on” of Radio Bimshire at the National Library Service while “Grandma” looks on

Education

SCHOOL AMALGAMATIONS & ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES BEING CONSIDERED

A continued decline in the number of children entering Barbados’ schools is poised to transform the island’s education sector, with government officials actively reviewing how resources are allocated and considering school amalgamations and repurposing.

Minister of Training and Tertiary Education Sandra Husbands confirmed on Tuesday that the shrinking student population will inevitably prompt adjustments to the educational framework. Her comments came following this year’s sitting of the Barbados Secondary School Entrance Examination (11-plus) by 2,981 students – a slight decrease from 3,011 in 2024.

“Yes, we have a decline in our population overall,” Husbands told reporters during a site visit to Frederick Smith Secondary School in Trents, St James. “And we are beginning to see it turn up in the registration of births, and the number of children therefore, will be reduced coming through the school system.”

With enrolment figures projected to continue falling, the Ministry of Education has begun reviewing how best to allocate resources in response. According to the minister, ministry officials have already drafted plans for consolidating and repurposing schools that are underutilised.

Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw reinforced this, revealing that an analysis has been completed to identify schools suitable for amalgamation.

“We’ve completed an analysis of the schools that should be amalgamated. That paper is right now before the minister of education for him to provide the feedback, but we looked at a number of criteria to determine which schools should be considered for repurposing,” Archer-Bradshaw explained. “The criteria involves school roll. We look to see whether there were emerging housing areas within the school location, [and] we also look to see whether the bus route was one that made sense.

“There are a number of factors that we considered in terms of proposing which schools should be reconsidered for repurposing and refurbishing. I can’t say at this stage [which schools] – I need to get the feedback from the minister and of course, the Cabinet.”