In a formal public statement released Wednesday, the Ministry of Education Transformation announced that all in-person classes at Eden Lodge Primary School, as well as the dedicated section of Good Shepherd Primary that shares the Eden Lodge campus, have been fully suspended, as education officials race to secure safe, suitable alternative accommodation for both student populations. The urgent operational shift was triggered by a wave of reports from on-site teaching staff who began experiencing unexplained physical discomfort while working at the shared school compound. While recent official environmental screenings and comprehensive air quality assessments conducted across the campus found no abnormal levels of hazardous contaminants, ministry officials emphasized that targeted investigations to pinpoint the exact origin of the persistent unpleasant odour and the root cause of the reported staff symptoms remain actively underway. The shared campus had previously been shuttered for multiple consecutive days earlier this month due to widespread community concerns tied to the strange odour, before reopening for scheduled in-person instruction on the same Wednesday that the suspension announcement was released. However, a fresh wave of formal complaints from educators shortly after the Wednesday reopening prompted education leadership to make the precautionary call to suspend all on-site operations once more. Ministry representatives confirmed that cross-functional teams are prioritizing the relocation process to minimize disruption to student learning timelines, and that regular, transparent updates will be shared with both teaching staff and parent communities as soon as new developments arise.
分类： education
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Competition to nurture next generation of chefs
Held yesterday at Anatol Rodgers High School, the 34th annual New Providence District Final of the Bahamas Young Chef Culinary Competition drew a cohort of passionate teen culinary talents vying for one of three coveted berths in the national championship scheduled to take place later this month. Among the standout participants was 15-year-old homeschooled learner TeNyah Thompson, who infused her entries with distinct, locally rooted Bahamian identity: her savory main dish paired fragrant Junkanoo rice with tender conch and bright, zesty mango salsa, while her indulgent dessert consisted of flaky guava puffs drizzled with warm spiced cinnamon sauce. Thompson shared that she had dedicated extensive hours to refining her recipes ahead of the contest, and expressed genuine satisfaction with how her final plates turned out during the district round.
The field also included 17-year-old Lyndre Gaitor, a student from CV Bethel High School who was the only male competitor in the senior high division. Gaitor noted that the entire contest journey was engaging and eye-opening, and he voiced his hope that his participation would motivate more young men across the island to explore culinary arts and join future iterations of the competition. He acknowledged that preparing for the event demanded significant time and effort, as he regularly stayed back after his scheduled classes to brainstorm dish concepts, test full meal preparations, and source high-quality local ingredients. When asked about the sources of his consistent discipline throughout the months of preparation, Gaitor named his mother and his dedicated culinary teacher as his primary pillars of inspiration.
One of the contest’s official judges, renowned local Chef Jamal Small, remarked that it was deeply uplifting to witness such robust enthusiasm for the culinary profession among the younger generation, at a time when the Bahamian hospitality and food service sector is actively seeking a larger pool of skilled, creative professional chefs. “This event never fails to deliver a wonderful experience,” Small commented. “We get to watch these young competitors master new culinary techniques, step outside their comfort zones, and evolve as creators every year, so it is always a true joy to be here and witness that growth firsthand.” Small explained that the panel of judges evaluated every contestant closely on their technical precision, as well as their ability to integrate modern, industry-aligned culinary best practices into their original, culturally informed dishes. He also emphasized the long-term value of giving young people structured exposure to the latest global advancements in the culinary space, while guiding them to nurture and lean into their unique personal strengths and creative voices.
This district-level culinary contest is an official component of the Bahamian Ministry of Education’s flagship Revolution in Education initiative, a broader policy framework designed to equip young Bahamians with hands-on, market-relevant practical skills and tangible career opportunities that lay the foundation for stable, sustainable long-term livelihoods. The event also featured a dedicated junior high school division, where top three placements were already awarded: Vernon Jennings from HO Nash Junior High claimed first place, Christ-Landie Antinord of TA Thompson Junior High took second, and Francina Hanna representing DW Davis Junior High rounded out the top three in third position. -
4 schools advance to semifinals of 2026 Grenlec Debates
After weeks of rigorous, intellectually stimulating rounds of competitive public speaking, four standout secondary school teams have secured their spots in the semifinal stage of the highly anticipated 2026 Grenlec Debates, marking a major milestone for the annual youth public speaking initiative across Grenada. For the cohort of student competitors that have progressed past preliminary elimination rounds, each successive stage of the contest has presented unforeseen intellectual hurdles, introduced them to diverse, often counterintuitive global perspectives, and pushed them to leverage their accumulated academic knowledge, practice rapid critical thinking under pressure, and cultivate distinct, confident public speaking voices that resonate with audiences and judges alike. The upcoming semifinal round will center its motions entirely on the urgent, high-stakes theme of climate change, challenging participating students to dissect the disproportionate cascading impacts of the climate crisis on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), unpack the complex distribution of climate action responsibilities and associated financial burdens between high-income developed nations and lower-income developing economies, and outline actionable, context-specific priority frameworks for climate change mitigation and targeted carbon emission reduction tailored to the unique constraints of small island territories. As the competition edges closer to its grand final showdown, organizers from Grenlec have expressed enthusiastic anticipation to watch the remaining four teams build on the skills, insights and collaborative experiences they have gained throughout earlier rounds, as they bring nuanced, well-researched personal and community perspectives to another series of dynamic, engaging public debates. Full recordings of all 2026 Grenlec Debates rounds are currently available for public viewing via broadcast on local platforms GBN and MTV, as well as official uploads hosted on Grenlec’s public YouTube channel. Grenlec and NOW Grenada explicitly disclaim all responsibility for individual opinions, formal statements and shared media content presented by independent student contributors participating in the event, with a dedicated public reporting portal made available to flag any instances of inappropriate content misuse.
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Rotary-Funded Google Classroom Pilot Supports Grade 4 Teachers as CHOGM Begins
Against the backdrop of the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) kicking off in Antigua, the Rotary Club of Antigua has rolled out a targeted, tech-focused pilot initiative designed to upskill local fourth-grade educators in leveraging Google Classroom to elevate student learning outcomes. The official onboarding orientation for participating teachers launched on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, marking the formal start of the program. Led by Mako S. Williams, a seasoned technology integration consultant from the Caribbean Tech Genius Foundation and architect of the long-running Systemic Technology Integration Training Series (STITS), the training draws on over 11 years of proven expertise in embedding digital tools into Caribbean K-12 learning environments. The STITS framework earned particular acclaim in 2020, when it drove widespread, measurable improvements to remote and hybrid teaching practices and provided specialized guidance for lead educators administering Google Classroom across regional school systems. The program’s carefully calibrated launch during CHOGM ensures that participating educators can immediately deploy the digital platform to streamline day-to-day instruction, while also granting students 24/7 access to curated course materials, recorded lessons, and targeted revision resources to help them prepare for high-stakes end-of-year standardized assessments. Over the course of the pilot, teachers from a diverse cohort of local primary schools will master core Google Classroom functionalities: structuring organized digital resource libraries, setting granular personalized learning milestones, collecting real-time evidence of student comprehension, delivering timely, actionable formative feedback, and tracking individual learner progress over the full academic year. These capabilities are designed to help educators proactively identify knowledge gaps for at-risk students and deliver targeted, tailored support before learners fall behind. This pilot builds on the Rotary Club of Antigua’s 17-year legacy of investing in local education, a track record that dates back to 2009 and includes large-scale student laptop distribution campaigns and more than a decade of sustained teacher professional development programming.
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The three-legged stool: why a child’s success demands support at home from parents
Authored by Yvette Gittens, a seasoned early childhood practitioner and literacy specialist based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, this op-ed frames holistic childhood education as a three-legged stool, where the school, the learner, and the family form equally foundational supports that must operate in tandem to keep the entire structure stable. Much like a physical stool that topples immediately if any one leg cracks or fails to bear its share of weight, a child’s path to sustained academic achievement collapses when one stakeholder group pulls back from its core responsibilities — and right now, Gittens argues, the “home leg” of that educational support structure is crumbling, with young learners bearing the steepest, most long-lasting consequences.
Classroom educators across the nation are putting in relentless, uncompensated extra hours to deliver high-quality, engaging instruction to their students, but all that carefully planned effort is systematically undermined the second the final school bell rings each weekday. The literacy specialist makes a passionate, unvarnished call for a long-overdue public conversation: guardians and parents can no longer treat their children’s education as an exclusively school-run responsibility, and must actively show up as collaborative, consistent participants in their child’s day-to-day learning journey.
The tangible evidence of widespread parental disengagement, Gittens notes, is carried visibly in the backpacks that children sling over their shoulders on their daily commute to and from school. Frontline educators are documenting a pervasive, deeply troubling pattern: textbooks are returned to classrooms in tattered, water-stained condition, with crumpled bent pages, torn spines, and missing front and back covers. Far more concerning, large swathes of assigned homework pages inside those same books sit completely blank for days at a time. Many of these half-finished assignments show clear marks that the child tried to work through the problems independently, but hit a wall they could not climb without a gentle nudge, a quick explanation, or basic accountability from an adult at home, leading them to abandon the rest of the work unfinished.
This pattern of incomplete work persists even when teachers send repeated, clearly written reminders home to alert parents of missing assignments, damaged materials, or unmet learning milestones. When a child’s backpack goes unopened and unchecked for multiple consecutive days, it sends an unspoken, damaging message to the young learner that their schoolwork, their progress, and their time spent in the classroom do not matter enough for the adults they trust most to pay attention.
Academic achievement can never be a one-sided, teacher-only endeavor. Educators can walk students through new concepts step by step, unpack confusing lessons, and offer targeted support during class hours, but they cannot follow every child back to their home after dismissal to reinforce those lessons, check for understanding, or enforce consistent homework routines. A child’s long-term success is heavily dependent on the predictable structure and gentle accountability that only a consistent home environment can provide. When parents ignore teacher outreach and opt out of basic learning supports, they rob their children of the critical practice and knowledge reinforcement that homework is designed to deliver, putting them at high risk of falling behind their peers and developing persistent, hard-to-fix learning gaps down the line.
Gittens references a widely circulated online cartoon that highlights this growing disconnect: when a teacher asks a young student to turn in his completed homework, the child casually responds that the assignment is still at home. Pressed on why he did not bring it to class, he shrugs and says “Because it’s homework!” While the exchange reads as a lighthearted viral joke for casual online viewers, the real-world reality behind that punchline is no trivial matter. For educators who pour their full energy and passion into supporting their students, and for young learners who are desperate to master foundational literacy and numeracy skills, this widespread lack of home follow-through is a formidable, avoidable barrier to meaningful learning.
Crucially, Gittens emphasizes that stepping up as an engaged parent does not require a formal education degree, specialized tutoring training, or hours of intensive one-on-one study sessions every night. It only demands small, consistent daily habits that any caregiver can integrate into their routine: a quick 2-minute daily backpack check every afternoon after school to review notices from teachers, assess the condition of learning materials, and confirm all assigned work is accounted for; intentional guidance to teach children to respect and care for their textbooks and school supplies, including simple steps like covering books with protective material and flattening crumpled pages; a fixed, distraction-free daily homework window free of televisions, mobile devices, and other interruptions, where parents verify that no assignments are left blank rather than taking a child’s offhand “I have no homework” answer at face value; and prompt, respectful communication with teachers, viewing classroom staff as collaborative partners rather than adversaries or de facto full-time babysitters.
Teachers are already fulfilling their end of the educational partnership, Gittens notes, but they cannot carry the full weight of supporting a child’s learning alone. It is long past time for parents to meet school staff halfway, unzip those neglected backpacks, and take small, consistent actions to actively secure their children’s long-term future. As a dedicated educator who views guiding a classroom full of young learners as a cherished God-given gift, Gittens adds that this op-ed serves as a gentle but firm reminder to parents to fulfill their shared responsibility to nurture the precious young lives in their care. These children, she concludes, are just as much a gift to their teachers as they are to their families, and when home and school work in full alignment, communities can successfully raise the next generation of capable, empowered leaders.
This piece is a submitted opinion commentary, and the views expressed by the author do not necessarily align with the official editorial stance of iWitness News. Members of the public who wish to submit their own opinion pieces for publication may send submissions to the designated editorial email address. -
Raquel Peña inaugurates Dominican Republic’s first National STEM Fair
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – In a landmark move to advance the country’s workforce development and digital transition agenda, Dominican Vice President Raquel Peña officially cut the ribbon on the nation’s very first National STEM Fair during a Monday ceremony, a purpose-built initiative focused on removing barriers for young people to access structured learning, financial support, and formal career openings across science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. Helmed by Congressman Vicente Sánchez Henríquez, the multi-stakeholder event has assembled a diverse cohort of K-12 and university students, leading domestic and international technology firms, and globally recognized industry experts, with a packed schedule of interactive workshops, credentialed certification programs, keynote conferences, and structured peer-to-professional networking sessions designed to foster meaningful, long-term connections between emerging talent and industry leaders. During her opening address, Vice President Peña emphasized that the fair is a core aligned component of the Dominican Republic’s national digital transformation roadmap, explicitly crafted to upskill the country’s youth population to meet the fast-shifting, skill-intensive requirements of the 21st-century labor market. Beyond educational programming, the fair also delivers direct, tangible opportunities for attendees, including exclusive internship placements with participating tech employers, curated one-on-one introductions to hiring managers at leading firms, and merit-based scholarships for high-performing student participants, creating a structured bridge that closes the historic disconnect between formal academic curricula and the practical, in-demand skill sets required for gainful STEM sector employment.
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Sir Hilary Beckles Returns to NYU as Distinguished Scholar to lecture on Slavery Economics
New York University (NYU) has officially welcomed Sir Hilary Beckles, the celebrated historian, academic administrator and leading voice in Caribbean reparatory justice, back to its campus as a distinguished visiting scholar for the 2024 spring academic term. The appointment marks a full-circle milestone for Beckles, who first held a guest lecture post at NYU nearly four decades ago early in his trailblazing career.
Over the course of his residency, Beckles will lead a specialized 12-week graduate seminar focused on the understudied economic frameworks that underpinned the transatlantic chattel slavery system, unpacking how enslaved labor generated the foundational capital that fueled the industrialization of Europe and the economic rise of modern North American and Caribbean states. His public lecture series, open to both NYU students and the broader metropolitan academic community, will also draw on decades of his original archival research, including findings from the landmark 2013 UK reparations commission report he led as chairman of the CARICOM Reparations Commission.
University leadership noted that the appointment is part of NYU’s broader initiative to expand its curricular offerings on Black diaspora economic history, addressing longstanding gaps in mainstream economics and history departments that have historically sidelined the material impacts of chattel slavery on global wealth distribution. During his residency, Beckles will also host closed working sessions with NYU’s faculty research teams focused on racial equity in economic policy, to develop collaborative cross-institutional research projects on reparatory economic frameworks for post-colonial societies.
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Antigua and Barbuda journalist Melvin Claxton to receive honorary doctorate at UWI Global Campus graduation on November 14
Come Saturday, November 14, 2026, at 6:00 PM Eastern Caribbean Time, the University of the West Indies (The UWI) Global Campus will host its highly anticipated 2026 graduation ceremony via free public access streams on UWItv.global, Flow EVO linear channels, and Flow’s Bluu mobile application. Centered on the empowering theme “Built to ADAPT. Ready to LEAD,” the fully virtual event will celebrate a landmark cohort of 1,293 graduands spanning every level of tertiary qualification, from professional certificates and diplomas up to doctoral degrees, across dozens of academic disciplines. The 2026 cohort marks a historic first for the institution: it includes the very first graduating class of students from the Pre-University Polytechnic, who completed their Associate degrees in Business Management, Paralegal Studies, and Social Work under a 2024 franchise partnership between The UWI Global Campus and the polytechnic. Thousands of graduands spread across every Caribbean nation will join the broadcast remotely, many gathering with loved ones at in-person watch parties to cheer as their names are announced and their portraits appear on the official ceremony stream. The virtual audience will include a distinguished roster of regional leaders: Caribbean Heads of State and Government, The UWI Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor, members of the university’s executive management team, senior national government officials, the Global Campus senior leadership group, and countless family members and friends of the graduating class, all gathering to recognise the years of dedication, resilience, and hard work that earned the new graduates their formal academic credentials. This year’s ceremony will also award honorary doctorates to two trailblazing Caribbean citizens whose decades of public service have shaped regional progress. Melvin L. Claxton, an award-winning journalist from Antigua and Barbuda, will receive a Doctor of Letters (DLitt) in recognition of his transformative 25-year career in investigative reporting: his rigorous, fearless work has exposed institutional corruption, rewritten outdated regional laws, held unaccountable public figures to task, and directly saved lives across the Caribbean. Notably, Claxton remains the only Black journalist in the 110-year history of the Pulitzer Prizes to be named explicitly in the organisation’s gold medal citation. The second honorary degree recipient is René Baptiste, CMG, of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who will be conferred a Doctor of Laws (LLD) for her 50 years of unparalleled contributions to governance, legal practice, and regional cultural advancement. Over her half-century career, Baptiste has built a legacy that extends far beyond the courtroom: she has served in her nation’s Parliament and Cabinet, held leadership roles in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Assembly, led her national Bar Association, served on global governing bodies for the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, championed the regional credit union and cooperative movement, held active leadership positions in the Anglican Church, and been a steadfast patron of St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ literary and cultural arts scene. The 2026 class valedictorian is Walson Josiah Pacquette, a Dominica-based physical education instructor, sports coach, administrator, and technical official who earned a First Class Honours Bachelor of Science in Sport and Leadership Management. Pacquette, who hails from Grand Bay, has spent his career bridging the fields of education and community sports, bringing the same rigorous discipline and pursuit of excellence to every role he undertakes. As the 2026 graduates step forward to launch their next personal and professional chapters, the UWI Global Campus is highlighting how their achievements embody the institution’s core 75-year mission: to deliver accessible, high-quality higher education that empowers Caribbean people to drive tangible, positive change in their local communities and the wider region. The ceremony will conclude with all new graduates reciting the official UWI Alumni Pledge, followed by a collective musical performance of the beloved university anthem, “There is a Light.” For context, The UWI was founded in 1948 as a small Jamaica-based University College of London with just 33 medical students, and has since grown into an internationally ranked global institution serving nearly 50,000 students across five campuses (Mona, St. Augustine, Cave Hill, Five Islands, and the Global Campus) plus international partner centres across North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. Offering more than 1,000 distinct certificate, diploma, and degree programmes spanning 10 core academic fields from medical sciences to sport leadership, it is the largest hub of specialised intellectual expertise in the Caribbean. Since 2018, it has earned consistent placement across four separate Times Higher Education (THE) global ranking lists: the flagship World University Rankings, the Golden Age University Rankings for institutions founded 50 to 80 years ago, the Latin America and Caribbean University Rankings, and the THE Impact Rankings measuring progress against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It is the only English-speaking Caribbean university to earn a spot on all four THE ranking rosters, a milestone that supported the recent launch of its new International School for Development Justice, a global online graduate business school designed to train the next generation of sustainable development leaders worldwide.
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PBC 2026 Secondary Schools’ Financial Quiz Knockout Champions
St. George’s, Grenada – In a thrilling display of young financial acumen, Presentation Brothers College (PBC) has been crowned the 2026 champion of Grenada’s Secondary Schools’ Financial Quiz Knockout Competition, dethroning defending title holder Westmorland Secondary by a final score of 105 to 85. Hosted jointly by the Grenada Investment Development Corporation (GIDC)’s Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) and the Grenada Development Bank (GDB), the high-stakes three-round final put the practical financial knowledge, collaborative teamwork, and competitive grit of the nation’s secondary school students on full public display. The tightly matched contest saw PBC deliver unwavering consistency and sharp mastery of core financial concepts across every question set to lock in the long-coveted championship, while Westmorland Secondary mounted a relentless, determined defense of their previous title. Third place honors went to St George’s Institute, earned via their accumulated points from the semifinal stage of the tournament. The official closing ceremony was held at the GIDC Conference Room on Wednesday, 28 October, where organizers distributed a total of $6,000 in prize funds and formally recognized the dedication and effort of every participating school. Addressing the gathering, GIDC Chief Executive Officer Ronald Theodore praised all contestants for their exceptional performances across the full tournament run. “Every participating team brought incredible drive, seamless teamwork, and a genuine hunger to learn, turning this year’s competition into an engaging, deeply rewarding experience for everyone involved,” Theodore noted. “We extend our warmest congratulations to Presentation Brothers College on their well-earned victory, and we hold Westmorland Secondary, St George’s Institute, and every other participating school in high regard for their outstanding efforts. These young people have already proven they have the potential to grow into informed, innovative, and financially responsible leaders for Grenada’s future.” GDB General Manager Royston Cumberbatch framed the competition not as an endpoint, but as a critical first step in long-term financial empowerment for the island’s youth. “While we celebrate the winning team and honor the achievements of every student who took part, I urge all our young participants to see this contest as a starting line, not a finish line,” Cumberbatch stated. “Keep asking questions, deepen your understanding of saving, budgeting, responsible borrowing, strategic investing, and entrepreneurship, and put that knowledge to work in the small daily decisions you make. The more financially literate you become, the better positioned you will be to build stable, prosperous futures for yourselves, and to drive broader economic well-being and national development across Grenada.” Both organizing institutions reaffirmed their ongoing commitment to youth-focused financial education initiatives, noting that targeted investment in financial literacy will help nurture a generation of Grenadian young people who can manage their personal resources responsibly, pursue viable entrepreneurial ventures, and make meaningful, long-term contributions to the island’s national growth trajectory.
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Digital skills gaps could limit job opportunities, minister warns
During a Wednesday adult learning forum hosted at The St Michael School in Barbados, Labour Minister Colin Jordan laid out stark new data exposing widespread digital skill deficits across the island’s workforce, framing the development of a refreshed national adult literacy framework as a critical investment in the country’s long-term social and economic resilience. Jordan opened his address by acknowledging that Barbados has historically taken well-deserved pride in its long-established education system and strong traditional literacy metrics, but emphasized that the nation must now confront unvarnished contemporary realities that threaten to exclude large swathes of the population from the modern economy and public life. Citing two authoritative recent assessments, the minister shared findings from an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) study that showed only 56% of Barbadians aged 15 and older can confidently navigate online platforms, just 59% have full proficiency in sending and managing emails, and a mere 48% can competently use standard word-processing software. A separate survey of medium and large domestic employers further underscored the scale of the gap, with respondents estimating that 47% of their existing workforce is missing at least some of the core digital competencies required to perform their roles effectively. Jordan stressed that 21st century functional literacy can no longer be limited to foundational reading, writing and numeracy, and must be expanded to include the digital skills that are now non-negotiable for securing employment, accessing critical public services, and participating fully in increasingly digitized community and civic life. He went out of his way to push back against harmful, common misconceptions around learning outcomes, explicitly warning stakeholders never to equate a lack of formal academic qualifications with a lack of inherent knowledge, intelligence, or practical capability, while still noting that widely recognized, accessible certification pathways remain a vital tool to help adults validate their skills for professional advancement. The proposed national adult literacy policy, accompanying strategy and actionable implementation plan, Jordan explained, is designed to serve a broad cross-section of Barbadians: existing workers looking to upskill and advance their careers, young people who did not complete traditional formal education tracks, and parents seeking to build their own skills to better support their children’s academic journeys. The policy, he added, will lay the groundwork for a more productive, inclusive, and economically resilient nation, and will be co-designed around the real lived experiences of the adult learners it is intended to support, rather than top-down, disconnected bureaucratic mandates. Shawntelle Morgan, a leading local literacy expert and consultant leading the policy development process, told forum attendees that the gathering was focused on crafting homegrown, context-specific practical solutions that would mark a watershed moment for adult learning support in Barbados, with the overarching goal of removing barriers so every adult resident can reach their full personal and professional potential.