Bahamas News
Education Minister says visit to GB schools was “refreshing”
By Andrew Coakley (BIS)
#TheBahamas, February 15, 2022 – “I truly believe that this generation who has been subjected to this ordeal of the COVID-19 pandemic, they will prove to be the most resilient generation of Bahamians we have ever seen. They are going to excel. I think they are going to be incredible. And we’re seeing it as we move through this country. It’s a very hopeful experience,” said Education Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin, during a tour of public schools in Grand Bahama on Friday, February 4, 2022.
It was the Education Minister’s first official trip to Grand Bahama since being elected to office and she said she was impressed with the level of resiliency among the teachers, administrators and students within the schools she visited. Accompanying Minister Hanna-Martin was Minister of State for Education, Zane Lightbourne.
Minister Hanna-Martin visited schools in West Grand Bahama and in Freeport, where she spoke with the principals, teachers and even entered a few classes, where she chatted with the students, asking the 12th graders their plans for college and university. Some of the schools which the Minister visited included Eight Mile Rock High, Jack Hayward High, St. George’s High School, Sister Mary Patricia Junior High and the Beacon School.
Minister Hanna-Martin described her trip to Grand Bahama as “refreshing,” noting that in spite of what Grand Bahama has been through in the past few years progress was still being made.
“This has been such an uplifting time for me, because Grand Bahama went through the pandemic and Hurricane Dorian, so they had double whammy and the optimism, the resiliency, the determination I’ve seen in the schools is
“To see the focus and determination of the young people at all levels; this has been an excellent experience for me here in Grand Bahama. There are still challenges that some of the schools face, but to see the positive attitudes exhibited by the teachers, the administrators and the students is really refreshing.
This has been a wonderful eye-opener today. It’s been very engendering to me.”
The Education Minister admitted that the COVID-19 pandemic and devastation by Hurricane Dorian have had a negative impact on Grand Bahama. A fact, she said, that cannot be denied. However, she noted that a combination of the parents, the schools, the teachers, and the wider community working together is the formula for students to excel.
She pointed out that students in grade 12 have been most negatively impacted by the pandemic, because it hit during the most critical times in their schooling, forcing students to miss two years of face-to-face learning.
“Actually, its three years they were affected, if you count the Hurricane,” added Minister Hanna-Martin. “But, in speaking with those senior students today, they just seem so determined and focused.
“In the way forward, I think we just have to support our children and support the schools. This is going to take a lot of legwork to catch up for the loss that has occurred during this pandemic, and there has been loss. But I think what I see in Grand Bahama – this shining optimism, I think that it bodes very well for the recovery for Grand Bahama and we hope across the board in this country.”
Photo Caption: Education Minister, Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin (second from left) chats with students of grade 12 at St. George’s High School during her visit there on Friday, February 4, 2022. Accompanying Minister Hanna-Martin was Minister of State for Education, Hon. Zane Lightbourne (second from right)
(BIS Photos/Lisa Davis)