The BGCSE examination is geared to allow 25% of the candidates to get A-C grades ....... unlike the old GCE (and the present CXC) that catered to the top 10% ............ Go figger.

The vast majority of Bahamian students are not academically-inclined ......... but our educational system would not adapt to the reality of our children's true potential. The post-primary public schools are still Pindling's "one-size-fits-all" brickhouses from the 1960s and 1970s.

Stop believing that ALL students can get an A,B, or C. Why do these experts stop talking nonsense about basing our human resource potential on just exam grades ........ Smh.

We are really in for a long very hard ride. The education system usually gets blamed, but how many PARENTS show interest in their children's education? I would say for sure the children who become A to C in their exams or certificates, that is 25% of parents, the other 75% of parents don't give a #$%^ hoot about their children's education, if they did, then directly after school is out you wouldn't see these children running around in the road or elsewhere getting into trouble and being idle, instead parents should with their children be going over what was learned that day and controlling that they understood what was taught that day before any playing is allowed. Now here is why we are really in trouble we now have generations of D average parents and so they are producing D average children. The problems are not the education system or teachers it's the parents. If the parents don't step their game up nothing will change as a matter of fact they will only get worst

@sheeprunner I dont think youre correct about the vast majority not being academically inclined. I think the problem is they're told over and over again that they cant so they dont. They dont even try. There's nothing different about the way the Bahamian brains work. We have all the neurons and synapses everyone around the world does. The difference is in how we think about the possibilities. Now once that child gets beyond 9/10, yes it will be more difficult for them to get on an academic track but its not impossible. They just need something theyre interested in and someone genuinely interested in them achieving academically. And no thats not easily done.

@Mandela....you are getting it....there are a number of issues involved.....but just to point out that Bahamian cream of the crop after all the taxpayers money spent on putting all children through the system making provisions for growth.....there are ferreign agencies actually setting up shop in the Bahamas.....not only physical presence....but innternet ...that solicit...contact....encourage...provide...free schlorships....all the perks for the cream of Bahamian future....to go to their foreign institutions....then once there....Bahamian students doing excellent are solicited to be ...employed abroad....which becomes the ticket with Bahamians ....voting wid dere feet and moving abroad....stead of dealing with same problems one govt to another..both sides of same coin...pore.....rich gap widening..an paying increasing taxes

When you look at Family Island exam results separately, you will notice that there is a better performance on the exams. Part of the problem, in New Providence especially, is ‘noise’ that interferes with the learning process. Even starting with the home, many students don’t even gat proper meals. Some live in an environment with no light or running water. Then they have to deal with situations in their community, with drugs, with gang violence and yes even with murder. Some losing school mates or even class mates and yes even family members to murder or other tragedy. And then still students are also exposed to the day to Day problems that adults face: the politics, the city dump burning, the power outages, the traffic congestion. and all the negative publicity given to Bahamians. The Minister of Education has suggested separation of boys and girls in classrooms. But that may be a non issue or at least not a big issue. But what government may need to consider is creating boarding schools for some students who are preparing to sit these exams. They enter the school two years prior to sitting the exams and leave after taking them. They can eithther go home every weekend, one weekend a month or at the end of each term. But something has to be done to arrest the deteriorating exam results. It may even be an idea to create these boarding schools on some family islands. Then they can also spur economic activity for those islands. The least that needs to be done is to sit on your hands and just complain.

Has this country ever put ample and abundant resources into education, the only way to truly bring up a country?
Class size should never be over 10 pupils.
I said this to a teacher the other day and she acted like I was asking for the moon.
We simply have never put our money where our mouths are.
When I heard a politician say that this country spends up to 600 MILLION DOLLARS at the web shops, everything else that isn't working in this country came into focus.
And, we complain that we have stupid leaders?
Well, who the hell put them there? Stupid voters.
Nothing else can improve in this country, until education improves.
Well, except for the web shop revenue. That really shows an educated populace too, doesn't it.

Interesting study of twins and academic achievement reported on the BBC web site. The study concludes that the major factor in academic achievement is inherited genes. We are a country graduating students with sadly low grades as a result of our genes. It is time to stop blaming the. Teachers, the government, or the environment. That Canadian banker that got run out the country for his unpopular remarks was correct after all. There is no solution presently available fo this problem.

As a long serving teacher it is often obvious that parents that care often have children that do well. So many times have I seen boys in particular playing basketball at 11.30 pm when they have a BGCSE exam the next day. Extra curricular activities from Bands ,Sports,visiting speakers and "fun days" all deprive students of valuable learning time. Finally why did the previous deputy Director of Education go to such lengths to recruit Cuban teachers when the teaching talent existed here. Cuban teachers rarely integrate into the community, spend as little as possible,have no real reason to perform as they go home at the end of a contract with I phones, tools and other goodies whatever their results.

Bahamian girls far outperform boys on external exams ....... more girls graduate from high school ........ more girls go to college ............ Yet males make 20% more on average income than females in the workplace ...... That is the conundrum of Bahamian education and employment outcomes.

Until education outcomes really affect how adults acquire jobs, we will keep the public/private school status quo ....... 60% of those who go to college overseas NEVER return home to help build this country.

"*As a long serving teacher it is often obvious that parents that care often have children that do well*"

Agree! Yes some children have inherited talent, but for the others not so gifted, having parents who guide them in the learning process can help overcome most educational challenges

If they think productivity is based or even judged on passing 3 exams with c or better then the ppl with literacy issues aren't limited to the kids!!! Especially if ya ga blame lack of productivity on these children without considering their lackluster and no talent having bosses and business owners.

I'm confident that the number of persons in the workforce with degrees has increased over the decades. Bachelors degree is entry level in banks now. Before it was 5 GCEs. So some of these 70% children must be improving themselves after graduation. I did and became a valedictorian at COB and went on to obtain other designations.

Mr. Myers should consider the math himself and stop using limited data to make conclusions about complex subjects.

Education is not valued in the Bahamas because you can make a good living in this economy
without being highly educated. I read this saying by the late Paul Adderley. Desmond Bannister told Dr.Ian Strachan this on a tv show.Athletics and education are not as important in the Bahamas as it is other caribbean islands because of the structure of our economy. That is the view of many persons in this country.

@hrysippus: your remarks boarders on racism. But in fact people can be conditioned learn as they can also be conditioned not to learn. And when one mentioned slavery and the fact that during that 400 year period, Black people (slaves) were punished and even put to death for learning to read. And many went through their lives pretending to be dumb. Then there is a school in a family island where every child learns to play a musical instrument before they graduate. And part of the graduation experience is performing in the school band. Meaning if students are put in an environment where they have to learn and under the right conditions, then they will learn. And a study of the US school system showed that monies were not given to schools based on need, but how affluent the areas in which they were located. So whilst the inner city schools were crum and lacking basic equipment, some rural schools could leave the lights and a/c on 24/7. And of course these school got better exam results. They also attracted the better teachers and faculty. And another part of the poor exam results is students determine if they want to take the exams, not the school. At one time a student had to take mick exams and get good grades in order to take the BGCSE.

Hey, Johnny, go read the study before you accuse anyone of racism. I was quoting an article published by the BBC. The article reported an a study that showed that academic achievement is mostly inherited. How you get from this to accusing someone of racism is puzzling. But you past posts have demonstrated the way you can twist things in your mind.

I am glad that even Minister Roker is sorry for creating this problem in the 80's when he drove away all the good (and some bad) foreign teachers by tearing up their work permits, on stage, for political gain.

@hypissonus: so you knew exactly what your intentions were when you quoted (or misquoted) the ‘article’. Your attack on me does not make you any more credible or your intentions any more better. You are constantly spewing out resist remarks or degrading Bahamians. So one must wonder about you. Always. Your name says it all.

Your comments are always racist or anti-Bahamian if only in their undertone.