Carib Scope

标签： Barbados

巴巴多斯

  • Rogers: Will terror law catch the ‘big ones’?

    Rogers: Will terror law catch the ‘big ones’?

    A senior Barbadian parliamentarian has cast doubt on whether a sweeping new anti-crime measure can meaningfully curb the island nation’s long-standing violence crisis, urging policymakers to look beyond legislative changes to address the root of the problem. Senator Reverend Canon Dr John Rogers has publicly raised concerns that the proposed Domestic Terrorism Bill, the latest in a long line of government crackdowns on violent crime, will fail to hold the most powerful criminal actors accountable if deeper societal reform is ignored. In remarks delivered during debate on the legislation, Rogers noted that violent crime has remained at the top of the national policy agenda for at least three decades, describing it as an entrenched, endemic issue that cannot be solved through new laws alone.

    Drawing a parallel to the legacy of the island’s most celebrated sports icon, Rogers contrasted the current generation of criminal actors with the late cricket legend Sir Garfield Sobers. He reminded listeners that Sobers grew up amid severe economic and social disadvantage, but never turned on the community that supported his rise to global acclaim. “These people fought really hard against many, many challenges, but never once sought to destroy the community that nurtured them,” Rogers said, highlighting that societal hardship alone cannot explain the current wave of violent crime.

    The senator pointed out that successive national governments have leaned heavily on new legislation as their primary response to rising violence, with the Domestic Terrorism Bill following just months after the passage of the Criminal Gangs Prevention and Control Bill. Despite his support for closing legal loopholes that allow criminals to avoid prosecution, Rogers stressed that broader, deeper societal change is required to turn the tide on crime. “This administration, like others, find themselves in the position where, to the layperson looking on from the outside, we’re just throwing legislation at this problem,” he argued. “The society needs a lot of work.”

    A core point of concern for Rogers is the widespread public perception that new laws will not be enforced equally across all segments of Barbadian society. He warned that unequal application of the Domestic Terrorism Bill would not only render it ineffective but could also worsen existing public distrust and lead to even greater instability. “I’m fearful that the impression out there is that it’s just another law. We know that somebody who knows somebody is going to put in a word for somebody,” he said, referencing a widespread cultural expectation of preferential treatment for well-connected individuals. If the public comes to see the new law as targeting only low-level offenders while powerful criminals remain untouched, Rogers warned, the island could face far worse crime problems than it does today.

    Rogers zeroed in on the bill’s provisions targeting large-scale unlawful firearms importation, a key driver of violent crime on the island. While he called this focus a critical component of the legislation, he suggested the bill is intended to catch the high-level “good citizens” who operate behind the scenes to smuggle bulk firearms into Barbados, often attending public events and maintaining mainstream reputations while orchestrating criminal activity. He also called on policymakers to pair the anti-crime legislation with new campaign finance regulations, arguing that stricter oversight is needed to separate legitimate political governance from the influence of criminal networks. “These are some of the areas we need to look at, to separate the arms of governance from what is taking place in the underworld in our country,” he said.

    While Rogers confirmed he would vote in support of the Domestic Terrorism Bill, he reiterated that closing legislative gaps alone cannot solve Barbados’ crime crisis. “Every loophole we find we have to try to patch but the reality is that we have an endemic problem in our society and legislation after legislation as we pass them. Who are we netting?” he asked. “If we live in a country where the big ones cannot be held and cannot be caught. This legislation is good on paper but if it is not administered equally, we will see far worse problems than we have today.”

  • Young athletes shine at summer camp finals

    Young athletes shine at summer camp finals

    More than 2,000 young participants across Barbados have wrapped up the 2026 National Summer Camp Programme, closing out weeks of skills-building and community-focused activities with the annual Sports for Peace Track and Field Finals held Wednesday at the iconic Usain Bolt Complex. The one-day championship event brought together the most promising young athletes who advanced through the summer camp’s regional phases, turning the venue into a hub of energetic competition, collaborative spirit, and cross-community connection that aligned with the programme’s core mission: building peaceful, inclusive societies for Barbados’ next generation.

    The National Summer Camp Programme, run in partnership between UNICEF’s Eastern Caribbean office and Barbados’ Division of Youth Affairs, centers this year’s activities around a broader island-wide anti-violence campaign. Beyond athletic training, the summer initiative was designed to equip participating youth with life and social skills that translate far beyond the running track and playing field.

    Speaking at the opening of the finals, Shorat Orazov, Acting Deputy Representative of UNICEF Eastern Caribbean, highlighted that the championship event marked the official end of months of programming that prioritized youth development over competition. “I’m so pleased to join you today as we celebrate National Summer Camp Sports 2026, the culmination of this year’s anti-violence campaign and a wonderful demonstration of the energy, talent, and potential of Barbados’ young people,” Orazov told the gathered crowd of athletes, coaches, and spectators.

    Over the course of the summer, Orazov explained, camp participants took part in a range of structured activities that balanced recreational fun with intentional skill-building. Young people engaged in workshops and team challenges that helped them cultivate core competencies including clear communication, collaborative problem-solving, empathetic listening, emotional self-regulation, and peaceful conflict resolution. These skills, he emphasized, are not just useful for the camp setting: they create lasting benefits for youth across every area of their daily lives, from classrooms to family homes to neighborhood communities, while laying the groundwork for them to grow into compassionate, effective leaders in the future.

    Cleviston Hunte, Acting Permanent Secretary of the Division of Youth Affairs, echoed the event’s focus on sportsmanship over winning, urging the young finalists to center the joy of participation rather than chasing top placements. “It’s a lovely day for track and field,” Hunte said. “I ask you to remember one thing as we go through this day. The joy of this day is in competing and not necessarily in winning.”

    Hunte reminded every athlete that qualifying for the national finals itself is a significant achievement, noting that every participant who stepped onto the track that day had already earned recognition for their hard work and commitment. “The fact that you are here competing means that you are all winners,” he said. He also called on competitors to uphold the event’s values of mutual respect and solidarity, urging them to cheer on their peers and help keep the day safe, respectful, and incident-free for all in attendance.

  • The rhymes and reason behind Five Steez’s hip hop journey

    The rhymes and reason behind Five Steez’s hip hop journey

    Nestled within Jamaica’s globally celebrated reggae and dancehall-dominated cultural landscape, one rapper has spent decades building a space for authentic hip hop, defying systemic barriers and redefining what local music can look like. Thirty-nine-year-old Five Steez, born Peter Wright, has never let the lack of pre-existing infrastructure for Jamaican hip hop stop him from chasing his artistic vision, crafting lyrically driven tracks that confront social realities, question public expectations, and inspire audiences to believe in their own potential.

    Wright’s journey has been far from easy. In a music industry where every major opportunity and infrastructure caters to reggae and dancehall, the MC has faced persistent criticism for his genre choice and struggled to access the resources mainstream Jamaican artists take for granted. “I am a hip hop artist in Jamaica, where everything is based around reggae and dancehall. There’s no producer I can easily go to and they’re going to have me in the studio and produce me,” he explained in an interview. For most emerging artists, these structural barriers would be enough to push them to abandon their craft or pivot to more commercially viable genres. But Wright chose a different path: instead of waiting for opportunities to come his way, he built them from scratch.

    His love for hip hop dates back to his childhood in Kingston, sparked by early exposure to the genre through his two older brothers, particularly David, who is nine years his senior. Growing up, their family home was constantly filled with the iconic sounds of pioneering American hip hop acts including Run-DMC, Public Enemy, KRS-One and EPMD. These early records ignited Wright’s lifelong fascination with lyrical craft and storytelling, a passion that deepened as he entered his teens. When he heard Wu-Tang Clan’s *Wu-Tang Forever* and Rakim’s *The 18th Letter*, it completely reshaped his understanding of what words could do on a track.

    “I was definitely impressed by the lyricism. So hearing that is just like, how do you put words together like that, how do you even think of that?” Wright recalled. Writing had always come naturally to him, but hip hop became the perfect outlet to turn that passion into art. By his early teenage years, he knew this was the path he wanted to follow—even though there were almost no successful Jamaican hip hop artists to look to as a model. That early spark turned into action when Wright and his friends began selling homemade mixtape CDs out of the corridors of his high school, St George’s College, laying the groundwork for the independent career he would later build.

    Wright’s first big break came from his own initiative. One night, he and friend and fellow The Council collective member Nomad Carlos saw an advertisement for a local show featuring rappers. Instead of just buying tickets and watching from the crowd, they walked up to the event’s promoters and introduced themselves as working rappers, asking for a spot on the lineup. “I figured, okay well this show has rappers in it, why not approach the promoters and say, ‘Hey we’re rappers too.’ That’s exactly what I did and we got into the next show… I had to find my own way,” he said. That small, bold move opened the door to one performance after another, and taught him a lesson that would guide his entire career: when the industry doesn’t give you an opening, you carve your own.

    That same do-it-yourself mentality shaped how Wright distributed his music when traditional outlets turned him away. With local radio stations unwilling to give airtime to an unknown underground hip hop artist, Wright and his team shifted their focus to alternative platforms. “I remember at one point in the journey, we realised that it wasn’t easy getting radio play because we don’t really have much of a name… but on these local cable entertainment stations, they were playing our videos. So we can shoot our videos, and we can send them to these stations and they would play them,” he said. Popular local stations Hype TV and RE TV, which boasted large audiences across Jamaica from the early 2000s through the 2010s, gave Wright his first major visibility when traditional mainstream media shut him out. He was also an early adopter of internet-based promotion, building connections with hip hop fans across the globe on early social platforms like MySpace years before social media became the primary marketing tool for independent artists.

    A key turning point in Wright’s career came when he joined the community at Gambling House, a Kingston recording studio he calls the “mecca of hip hop in Jamaica.” It was there that he connected with producers and collaborators Damien and Inztinkz, who helped him create his acclaimed debut album *War for Peace*. He also found a larger creative home through Manifesto Jamaica, a collective of local artists and creatives working to reshape Kingston’s cultural ecosystem. Through the collective, he earned a spot performing at the Manifesto Festival in Toronto, one of the largest urban arts festivals in Canada, where he shared a lineup with many of the artists who had inspired him as a child.

    The performance was a full-circle moment for Wright: one of the festival’s headliners was none other than hip hop legend Rakim, whose lyrical precision had left him awestruck as a teenager. Years after sitting in his bedroom marveling at *The 18th Letter*, Wright got to meet his idol in person, a moment that drove home how far his unorthodox journey had taken him.

    Today, more than two decades into his career, Wright boasts an extensive and diverse discography that includes 2014’s *These Kingston Times*, 2016’s *HeatRockz*, 2021’s *Quietude*, 2023’s *Re:DEFined*, and his most recent 2024 four-track EP *The Test of Time*, produced in collaboration with Son Raw. His highly anticipated new full-length album *Re:Emergence* is scheduled for release on September 29, 2026. Though his music has gained an international following and taken him to perform across North America, Wright has never measured his success by commercial fame or mass appeal.

    When critics argue his music doesn’t sound like traditional Jamaican music, Wright pushes back: “Some people would listen and say ‘Hey, but it doesn’t sound like dancehall.’ Well, it’s not supposed to, it’s hip hop. What I’m trying to do is make what people would call boom bap hip hop, authentic hip hop. Or what I call true school, so that’s pretty much the sound but the Jamaican influence comes in where it’s always going to be the Jamaican perspective you hear and that cultural background, coming out influencing the lyrics and the perspective, influencing the message and the content.”

    Wright’s lyrics draw directly from the everyday realities of life in Jamaica, exploring core themes of cultural identity, social justice, personal growth, and resilience. When he’s not making music, Wright works full-time as a marketing professional, and he often weaves reflections on balancing a day job with artistic ambition into his work. His tracks also tackle pressing social issues including government corruption and police brutality, all while encouraging listeners to pursue their own purpose and build a deeper understanding of themselves.

    “One of the messages is that you can achieve what you want. With knowledge of self and with determination, and I try to exemplify that. I try to use my own journey and story, to inspire people and show them, you can do something that you have in your mind, whether people tell you it’s impossible or it’s hard or it’s never been done before,” he said.

    Looking toward the future, Wright says his greatest legacy will be helping to build and legitimize the Jamaican hip hop scene, and serving as an ambassador for the country’s underground hip hop community on global platforms. “If it’s an event that’s happening, and that type of presence is needed, I’m that guy. Where there’s that intersection between Jamaica and hip hop, I’m going to be there. I want to be on hip hop platforms repping for Jamaica and let it be known that there is a scene for hip hop here. There’s love for the culture here, there is talent here… The local scene has always been something that I’m passionate about and I want to resurrect it.”

  • CSA launches new trophy as regional sailing circuit takes shape

    CSA launches new trophy as regional sailing circuit takes shape

    The Caribbean Sailing Association (CSA) has announced two major updates to the region’s competitive sailing landscape: the launch of a brand-new overall championship trophy and a revised five-year event calendar running from 2027 to 2031. The changes are designed to streamline scheduling, cut down on conflicting event dates, and boost the Caribbean’s standing as a top global destination for competitive sailing.

    Central to the new plan is the consolidation of all the region’s top-tier regattas into a single four-month competitive racing season, anchored by the newly introduced CSA Majors Trophy. This prestigious new award will honor the sailor or team that delivers the strongest consistent performance across five of the Caribbean’s most high-profile sailing events: the RORC Nelson’s Cup Series, RORC Caribbean 600, St Maarten Heineken Regatta, Antigua Racing Cup, and BVI Spring Regatta. The overall champion of the circuit will be officially crowned following the conclusion of the BVI Spring Regatta.

    The updated five-year calendar brings key adjustments to event timing to eliminate overlapping schedules, a longstanding pain point for competitive teams that want to compete in multiple regional events. Barbados Sailing Week will retain its annual January spot on the calendar throughout the entire 2027–2031 period, while the St Maarten Heineken Regatta also remains a core fixture on the circuit. The Antigua Racing Cup will shift to an earlier date in the revised schedule to accommodate the consolidated four-month window for major events.

    CSA President Bastien Poutier emphasized that the structural changes strike a balance between building a professional, accessible competitive circuit and preserving the iconic adventurous spirit that sets Caribbean sailing apart. “This calendar delivers clarity and momentum for our sport,” Poutier explained. “Concentrating our marquee events into a four-month window creates a true circuit for serious campaigners — without losing the adventurous spirit that defines Caribbean racing.”

    The CSA Majors Trophy becomes the third regional award recognizing consistent cross-event performance, joining the existing Budget Marine Windies Multihull Trophy and Travellers Trophy. CSA officials noted that the overarching goal of both the new trophy and revised calendar is to maximize competitor participation across the region’s events, attracting more top sailing talent from around the globe and cementing the Caribbean’s reputation as a world-class sailing host.

  • Barbados seeks stronger climate reporting systems

    Barbados seeks stronger climate reporting systems

    Against a backdrop of accelerating climate impacts already reshaping Caribbean nations, Barbados has made strengthening climate measurement and transparency systems a top national priority, with senior officials framing the effort as critical to unlocking much-needed international climate funding. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Environment Santia Bradshaw outlined the country’s strategic goals during an inception workshop and first formal consultation round for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) project, which brought together key environmental agencies to build institutional and technical capacity for climate action.

    Bradshaw emphasized that transparency in climate action is not just a reporting requirement under the Paris Agreement — the landmark legally binding global climate treaty — but a core strategic advantage for the island nation. “Put simply, what we cannot measure and what we cannot properly manage and what we cannot demonstrate, we will find increasingly difficult to finance,” she told attendees of the gathering. For small island developing states like Barbados, where climate change is already an immediate, lived reality rather than a distant hypothetical, robust data systems are foundational to advancing climate goals.

    Unlike many larger economies that can treat climate change as a long-term policy challenge, Bradshaw noted that the crisis is already reshaping daily life across Barbados. It is damaging coastal infrastructure, straining freshwater supplies, disrupting national food systems, threatening key economic sectors, and eroding future opportunities for local communities. As such, the work of building stronger transparency frameworks goes far beyond meeting international reporting obligations: it is about fundamentally improving how Barbados governs its climate response, tracks national progress, and makes evidence-based policy decisions that benefit all residents.

    Barbados has already laid out its formal climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, which requires all signatory nations to outline and update their voluntary national climate targets, called nationally determined contributions (NDCs). The country has submitted its second NDC, reaffirming its commitment to limiting global warming to the 1.5°C threshold outlined in international agreements and setting a target to cut absolute greenhouse gas emissions 45% below 2008 levels by 2035. To turn these commitments into action and attract the international funding needed to implement them, Bradshaw said clear evidence of results is non-negotiable. If Barbados is to call on the global community to increase climate finance commitments, it must first demonstrate its own progress and accountability for funds it already receives.

    The CBIT project, which carries a total budget of $1.25 million U.S. (equivalent to Bds$2.5 million), is being implemented in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as the executing agency. Its core mandate is to build out the full suite of systems Barbados needs to measure, verify, report on, and demonstrate the impact of its climate actions across every sector. For example, if the country invests in climate-resilient agricultural practices, officials need data to prove those investments are delivering results; if it expands renewable energy and clean technology, it must quantify resulting emission reductions; and if it protects vulnerable natural ecosystems, it has to document the tangible environmental benefits those protections deliver.

    A key pillar of the effort is breaking down institutional silos across government, Bradshaw stressed. Climate change touches every aspect of national development, from energy and agriculture to infrastructure and public health, so transparency cannot be the sole responsibility of any single ministry. Instead, it requires a whole-of-government, whole-of-country approach that brings all stakeholder agencies together around shared climate goals. Strengthened coordinated transparency systems will not only meet international requirements but also standardize data collection processes, improve quality assurance, cut down on duplicative work, and create a stronger foundation for evidence-based policy across all levels of government.

    Ultimately, Bradshaw emphasized, the work of collecting and analyzing climate data is not just about tracking carbon tons or meeting reporting deadlines — it is about improving the lives of all Barbadians. Climate policy shapes family well-being, protects livelihoods, supports local business, safeguards food and national security, and builds prosperity for coming generations. For Barbados, which has been a leading voice in international advocacy for greater climate finance for vulnerable small island developing states, strong domestic systems are the necessary complement to global calls for action.

    Francesco De Simone, IDB Chief of Operations for Barbados, confirmed that the project will support the development and rollout of a national monitoring, reporting, and verification system aligned with Barbados’ NDC commitments, forming a foundational anchor for other IDB-supported climate initiatives. The work aligns closely with the IDB’s country strategy for Barbados, which prioritizes building national climate resilience, and De Simone echoed Bradshaw’s call for close coordination across government agencies and stakeholders to maximize synergies and ensure efficient use of project resources.

    Closing the consultation, Bradshaw encouraged all participating stakeholders to bring forward constructive feedback and take ownership of their specific roles in the project. She framed the CBIT initiative as a unique opportunity to strengthen Barbados’ international credibility, ensuring that its ambitious climate commitments are backed by solid evidence and measurable, verifiable results that can attract the international funding needed to turn climate goals into real action.

  • Circus at Belle posed public health risk – expert

    Circus at Belle posed public health risk – expert

    A leading Caribbean environmental expert has backed the government’s decision to relocate the Suarez Brothers Circus from a protected groundwater site in Barbados, while suggesting circus operators may have received incomplete guidance on the strict permitting requirements for the sensitive location.

    Dr. Adrian Cashman, former director of the University of the West Indies’ Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), clarified that public health risks stemmed not just from the site’s location, but from the circus’s day-to-day operations near one of the country’s most important drinking water sources. Speaking after government officials outlined the rationale for the move at a recent press briefing, Cashman emphasized the site sits within Zone A, the highest classification of water protection area designed to shield the country’s primary Belle aquifer from contamination.

    “It’s not so much the physical location; it’s the activities that would go on in that location, as the minister was pointing out. You not only have hundreds of members of the public visiting each day, but you also have the performers who would be living on-site, and that all takes place in a Zone A water protection zone,” Cashman explained. He added that recent heavy rainfall across Barbados drastically speeds up the movement of pollutants into the groundwater, cutting short the 90-day buffer period that Zone A designation is designed to provide. “If you have activities generating wastewater or leaving pollutants on the ground, these recent intense downpours would wash those contaminants into the aquifer far faster than the 90-day protection window the zone is supposed to provide. This is an unambiguous public health risk,” he said.

    When asked how the circus was initially permitted to set up at the International Botanical Gardens at the Belle, Cashman suggested the multi-step permitting process across multiple government agencies may have left operators without clear guidance on all required approvals. “Different activities require different levels of clearance from different bodies. It seems to me that they were ill advised. Maybe it wasn’t made clear to the Suarez Brothers team when they were applying just how broad the set of permissions they needed to obtain actually was,” he noted.

    The relocation incident has already sparked internal government reflection on inter-agency coordination. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Environment Santia Bradshaw referenced the controversy during closing remarks for the 2026 Environmental Summer Internship Programme on Monday, stressing that natural resource protection depends on breaking down silos between government departments. “We have seen what a circus can be made of when we do not communicate effectively,” Bradshaw told interns, adding that collaboration across agencies and disciplines is non-negotiable for protecting Barbados’ limited natural resources.

    Cashman also addressed public concerns surrounding two other developments sited in the same Zone A protection area: a new geriatric hospital and a reported incinerator. He noted that the hospital, which is not connected to the Bridgetown or South Coast sewage systems, would have undergone rigorous statutory consultation with the Barbados Water Authority during the planning process, requiring strict on-site wastewater collection and treatment protocols that keep contamination risk extremely low.

    “Any planning permission for a major development like this is legally required to include consultation with the Barbados Water Authority. Any concerns would have been raised and incorporated into the permit’s conditions. I would be extremely surprised if all of the relevant matters had not been taken into consideration, resulting in an extremely low contamination risk,” Cashman explained. He declined to comment on the proposed incinerator, noting that it falls outside his area of expertise.

    Cashman praised the Barbados Water Authority and other involved government agencies for their consistent commitment to protecting public water supplies, noting that their high level of professionalism often flies under the public radar. “I’ve worked with the Barbados Water Authority and some other government agencies over many years now, and I think it is underrecognised the degree of professionalism that they exercise in these cases,” he said, adding that agencies should be more proactive about sharing their work with the general public: “I would say, blow their own trumpet a little bit more.”

    The circus relocation controversy unfolded over roughly two weeks: On July 25, Suarez Brothers Circus announced its return to Barbados, with performances set to begin August 7 at the Belle’s International Botanical Gardens. The circus opened as planned on August 7, but just one day later, authorities notified management of contamination risks linked to the Zone A location and the lack of approved hygienic water access. The circus was granted limited permission to sell pre-packaged food on August 9, with all on-site food preparation banned, before the site was shut down entirely that same day, cancelling the scheduled 5 pm performance. By August 10, crews began dismantling the circus grounds while management met with officials to review five potential alternative locations. On August 16, Garrison Savannah was selected as the new site, and equipment relocation began immediately. In an August 17 interview with Barbados TODAY, circus manager Ivan Suarez said the company had already completed and paid for permitting through multiple government agencies for the original Belle site, and was now forced to repeat the entire process for the new Garrison Savannah location. During an August 18 press conference, Minister Marsha Caddle confirmed that while the circus had obtained permission from the Ministry of Environment to operate at the Belle, it failed to secure all required clearances from other relevant authorities, including water access approval from the Barbados Water Authority and approved on-site accommodation for performing staff.

  • Education advocates urge transparency, deeper scrutiny following CXC results

    Education advocates urge transparency, deeper scrutiny following CXC results

    The release of 2026 preliminary results from the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has sparked renewed calls from two prominent regional education advocates for sweeping changes to exam reporting, systemic transparency, and national investigations into student well-being across the Caribbean. While thousands of candidates across the bloc have marked academic achievements across four major CXC qualification frameworks – the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ), and Caribbean Regional Certificate of Secondary Competence (CCSLC) – advocates argue that the official published aggregate statistics hide deep, long-running systemic flaws that demand immediate, targeted scrutiny.

    Official published metrics put the 2026 regional pass rate for CSEC at 72.18%, with CAPE posting an even higher 93.5% pass rate, under CXC’s current grading system that designates Grades 1 through 5 as passing outcomes. But Paula-Anne Moore, a parent advocate who serves as spokesperson for both Barbados’ Group of Concerned Parents and the regional Caribbean Coalition for Exam Redress, has raised urgent questions about the real-world utility of these broad, aggregated passing bands, especially for students seeking employment or admission to competitive higher education institutions.

    Moore pointed out that while CXC classes Grades 1 to 5 as acceptable passing outcomes for CAPE, few competitive employers or reputable tertiary institutions would consider a Grade 4 or 5 acceptable in today’s crowded academic and job markets. Even a Grade 3, she noted, falls short of entry requirements for many leading universities. To bring regional exam reporting into line with global best practices – such as the United Kingdom’s Cambridge A-Level system, which publishes granular breakdowns of top A and A* grades – Moore has called on CXC and all Caribbean national education ministries to publish disaggregated data on the share of candidates attaining Grade 1, the highest performance level, for both CAPE and CSEC. She also highlighted the complete absence of public data on another critical matriculation benchmark: the share of students passing five CSEC subjects, including core Mathematics and English A, a requirement for entry to most post-secondary programs across the region. While Moore acknowledged that CSEC Mathematics pass rates have risen to 42% this cycle, she warned that aggregated statistical reporting is often used to frame incremental gains as major successes, rather than encouraging full transparency that would reveal ongoing gaps in performance.

    Dr Zhanè Bridgeman-Maxwell, a science educator and the second advocate involved in the call for reform, offered context for the stark performance gap between CAPE and CSEC pass rates, noting that the structure of post-secondary study shapes student outcomes intrinsically. Unlike CSEC, which is a compulsory secondary-leaving qualification for most students, CAPE is undertaken by students who have already chosen to pursue sixth-form study in specialized, career-focused academic disciplines. “When you are intrinsically motivated, and you’re choosing something that you like, students tend to be more engaged,” she explained, noting that high CAPE pass rates do reflect that students who reach this stage of study are generally thriving. The gap, she argued, lies in the large share of regional students who never progress past CSEC before seeking post-secondary opportunities. While some leading regional institutions, such as the University of the West Indies, offer preliminary bridging programs to help these students close preparation gaps, the achievement gap remains a major barrier to upward mobility for thousands of young Caribbean people each year.

    Beyond academic performance outcomes, both advocates raised alarms about two underreported trends revealed in the 2026 results data: candidate absenteeism and widespread examination irregularities. CXC’s official data records more than 35,000 candidate no-shows for the 2026 exams, alongside 128 confirmed cases of exam malpractice, most linked to unauthorized use of smart devices, candidate collusion, and the emerging threat of generative AI-facilitated cheating. Dr Bridgeman-Maxwell framed both absenteeism and cheating as interconnected coping mechanisms for students navigating a high-stakes testing system that places extreme pressure on young people. “At the end of the day, any source of irregularity in an exam and absenteeism are two sides of the same coin. What is common between the two is that candidates are finding a way of coping with facing a high-stakes test, whether that means not showing up or attempting unauthorised means to sit the exam,” she observed. She called on regional governments, tertiary institutions, and social service providers to conduct localized, in-depth studies to address rising academic anxiety, widespread student disengagement, and a growing gender gap that has seen increasing rates of male attrition from secondary education across the region. She also warned that unregulated generative AI use poses a growing threat to the development of critical thinking skills among students, and that cheating enabled by AI is likely to rise significantly without targeted, structured classroom interventions to help students use AI ethically.

    Moore went further, sharply criticizing CXC for its pattern of shifting blame for systemic exam challenges onto students and teachers, while refusing to acknowledge its own institutional missteps. She pointed to the January 2026 hybrid e-testing pilot for English A and Mathematics, which saw widespread disruption across Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, with widespread technical failures, multi-hour delays, and inadequate paper backup plans that left thousands of students in severe distress. “Thousands of students were traumatised by these exams. They were inadequately piloted, no mock exams or basic preparation was provided, and exams were delayed by three to seven hours in a morass of confusion,” Moore said. “Yet CXC claimed no student was disadvantaged and delays were minimal. This callous, dismissive communication destroys trust and confidence in the system year after year.” She added that long-running unaddressed issues, including repeated exam paper errors, duplicated multiple-choice questions, and the failure to implement key recommendations from the 2020 Independent Review Team of CXC, continue to erode the credibility of regional qualifications among employers and universities globally.

    The conversation also touched on CXC’s newly piloted Caribbean Technical and Vocational Education Certification (CTEC), a modular assessment framework designed to reduce student cognitive stress by splitting cumulative exams into smaller, sequential units. CXC has hailed the pilot’s early results, reporting an 80 to 90% pass rate for CTEC Mathematics Module 1 and framing the outcome as proof that modular assessment improves student knowledge retention and reduces exam-related anxiety. While Dr Bridgeman-Maxwell welcomed the exploration of alternative assessment pathways as a positive step, she cautioned against premature celebration of the pilot based solely on entry-level module results. “Module 1 covers foundational entry level concepts. High pass rates there do not necessarily map onto students performing well in higher-order mathematical mastery required in module 2 and module 3,” she noted, raising a core policy question: “does modularisation build genuine competence in students, or does it simply certify basic skills for better reporting metrics of CXC?”

    Both advocates agreed that while new structural initiatives like CTEC hold potential for improving student experiences, modular assessment tools cannot replace the core foundations of strong classroom learning, robust diagnostic teaching, and full institutional accountability across the entire Caribbean Community (CARICOM) education ecosystem. Until CXC addresses long-standing transparency gaps, institutional failures, and unaddressed systemic barriers to student success, they argue, regional qualifications will continue to fall short of meeting the needs of Caribbean young people.

  • Five Bajans earn CWI camp call-up

    Five Bajans earn CWI camp call-up

    Cricket West Indies (CWI) has named 22 of the most promising young female cricketers from across the Caribbean to attend a two-week elite High-Performance camp in Antigua, with preparations for the 2027 ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup now ramping up. Five players from Barbados earned selections, marking the second-largest national contingent at the camp – trailing only tournament winners Trinidad and Tobago, who secured seven spots. Among the Barbadian group is Eboni Brathwaite, the top run-scorer of the recently concluded CWI Rising Stars Under-19 Women’s Championship, where Barbados claimed the runner-up position behind Trinidad and Tobago.

    Regional representation is rounded out by four selections from the Leeward Islands, two picks apiece for the Windward Islands, Jamaica and Guyana, reflecting a broad scouting of talent across Caribbean territories. The high-intensity camp kicked off on Monday and will run through August 29, bringing emerging players straight from the regional championship grounds to the elite training environment in a deliberately structured timeline.

    Dwain Gill, CWI’s High-Performance Manager, explained the strategic logic behind the immediate transition from competitive tournament to specialized training. “The Rising Stars Championship gave us a valuable opportunity to see these players compete, respond to pressure and demonstrate their potential in a regional environment,” Gill noted. “We did not want that assessment process to end with the tournament. Bringing the selected players directly into camp allows us to build on what we have seen, work more closely with them and begin addressing the areas that will be critical to their progression.”

    Selections for the camp were not based solely on raw tournament stats; CWI’s selection panel weighed multiple factors including on-field performance results, in-depth technical evaluations, age eligibility requirements, tactical game awareness, on-pitch temperament, competitive drive and overall physical fitness. Once at the camp, athletes will undergo a holistic development program targeting four core domains: technical skill refinement, tactical game understanding, physical conditioning, and mental resilience for high-stakes competition.

    Leading the on-field training schedule is Ryan Austin, assistant coach of the senior West Indies women’s national team, who will be joined by two seasoned cricket figures: former West Indies wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich and Ramesh Subasinghe, head coach of the West Indies Academy. Beyond Brathwaite, the full 22-player roster includes Davehjah Brown, Zaniyah Bruce, CQuinya Dasent, Jessica Davis, Kaela George, Brianna Harricharan, Sabriel Headley, Allia Henry, Theanny Herbert-Mayers, Jadaeya Holder, Shriya Jairam, Danielle Manns, Jannah Mohammed, Brianna Plummer, Sian Ramnarine, Samara Ramnath, Zara Skerritt, Amrita Ramtahal, Jaeda Tyrell, Leanga Warner and Aaliyah Weekes. The camp marks a key milestone in CWI’s long-term pathway to develop a competitive squad for the 2027 global tournament, identifying and nurturing the next generation of West Indies female cricket stars.

  • NHC reports progress on housing handovers, tenant ownership

    NHC reports progress on housing handovers, tenant ownership

    Decades of uncertainty over property ownership for thousands of long-term public housing tenants in Barbados have moved closer to resolution, following new legislation passed by national lawmakers that clears the way for full legal transfer of occupied National Housing Corporation (NHC) units, though residents continue to voice frustration over lingering delays.\n\nThe long-running push to grant ownership to eligible long-term tenants gained formal legislative backing in May this year, when Parliament approved the State (Acquisition and Vesting of Property) Act. The legislation, designed to cut through years of crippling administrative backlogs, paves the way for 3,892 long-term NHC tenants to become official homeowners, with upper house senators hailing the law as a long-overdue reform expected to deliver sweeping social benefits. The measure covers nine major housing estates across the country: Deacons Farm, Grazettes, Fernihurst, Wildey, Bonnetts, Golden Acre, Silver Hill, Gall Hill and Wotton.\n\nIn an update on the programme’s rollout, NHC General Manager Ian Gill confirmed that progress is already visible in the initial distribution phases. To date, nearly 500 households across the first two allocation batches have successfully taken full ownership of their properties through the initiative.\n\nThe government’s scheme builds on the existing Twenty-Year Programme, a policy that grants full legal ownership to NHC tenants who have continuously rented their units for 20 years or more and met all eligibility criteria. For many qualifying residents, however, the promise of ownership has remained unfulfilled for more than a decade, leaving them grappling with serious practical and financial barriers.\n\nWithout official title deeds, many households cannot leverage their property as collateral for loans, unlock equity for home improvements or development, or formalize inheritance arrangements after the death of a property occupant. One long-term Deacons Farm resident, who has waited more than 10 years for her title, shared her experience following her mother’s death: despite having lived in the home her entire life, she was still required to produce formal legal proof of ownership to secure rights to the property. “When my mother got the keys for this house, she put them in my hand. I was the first one to open this door, and to this day I am still waiting for papers,” she said, adding that without formal documentation, she cannot even access basic banking services that rely on property proof.\n\nOther residents have pointed to a pattern of broken political promises around the title transfer process. Multiple residents reported that electoral candidates routinely pledge fast-tracked title deeds during campaign periods to win votes, only for the process to stall immediately after elections conclude. “When election time comes, they bring a piece of paper telling you that they will give it to you after the election in a couple of weeks or months, but it never happens. It is empty promises, and that has been going on for four or five elections now,” one long-term tenant explained, adding that every change in NHC leadership requires residents to restart the entire application process from scratch.\n\nGill acknowledged the frustration among waiting residents but sought to reassure them that the administrative process is moving forward, stressing that legal property transfers require thorough, deliberate oversight to avoid errors. “Everybody across Barbados who has been approved under the twenty-year programme will eventually receive their houses,” he said. “Whatever the legislation states, they will receive their houses. It is only a matter of time. Everything takes time, especially where legal work is concerned.”\n\nWhen asked to address separate resident concerns about the Grotto housing complex, Gill declined to comment on the record but invited local outlet Barbados TODAY to tour the site to observe ongoing work. During the outlet’s visit, two construction cranes were on site carrying out tree removal, and residents reported that the work is part of a broader estate beautification project that will include power-washing and repainting building exteriors, as well as cleaning up common green spaces and grounds.

  • Paul powers Kingsmen past Patriots

    Paul powers Kingsmen past Patriots

    The Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League’s home stretch for the Jamaica Kingsmen concluded with a dominant 51-run triumph over the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on Tuesday, powered by a career-defining all-round display from all-rounder Keemo Paul.

    What looked set to be another disappointing outing for the Kingsmen turned into a memorable victory after a catastrophic start to their batting innings. Opening bowler Saurabh Netravalkar ripped through the hosts’ top order in the very first over, sending both Kirk McKenzie and Keacy Carty back to the pavilion without adding a single run to the scoreboard. The collapse continued through the first seven overs, and by the eighth, Jamaica was reeling at 54 runs for the loss of four wickets, with the Patriots firmly in control of the contest.

    That is when Paul and Kingsmen captain Rovman Powell stepped up to reverse the momentum. The pair forged a critical 99-run partnership for the fifth wicket, stabilizing the innings and shifting the game in the Kingsmen’s favor. After a patient, calculated start to his knock, Paul exploded in the later overs, finishing with an explosive 65 runs off just 36 deliveries, decorated by five towering sixes and five well-placed fours. Powell supported solidly at the other end, notching 49 runs from 39 balls before departing, and star all-rounder Andre Russell pushed the total past the 180-mark with an unbeaten 14 runs off seven deliveries, setting the Patriots a target of 182 runs to win. The Kingsmen closed their innings at 181 for six wickets after the full 20 overs.

    In their chase, the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots never managed to mount a meaningful challenge to the required run rate. They were soon on the back foot, slipping to 31 runs for three wickets by the fifth over, and later collapsed to 64 for five. Paul once again proved to be the difference-maker with the ball, claiming the key wickets of Kyle Mayers, Wanindu Hasaranga and Obed McCoy on his way to figures of three wickets for just 30 runs. While batsman Kevin Wickham put up a fight with a 34-ball 37, it was not enough to salvage the Patriots’ innings. They were eventually bowled out for 130 runs in the 18th overs, two full overs short of their full allocation, handing the Kingsmen a comfortable 51-run win.

    This victory marks the second consecutive win for the Kingsmen, who lost their opening three matches of the tournament. The result lifts them to four points from five outings heading into the next phase of the Caribbean Premier League. For his match-winning contributions with both bat and ball, Paul was honored with the Player of the Match award.