THE REPORT IN the last SUNDAY SUN that approximately 5 000 students have applied for places at the Barbados Community College (BCC) makes for nerve-racking reading. This is so if for no other reason than the number of applicants who will be rejected.
While it is heart-warming to know that a large number of students are interested in pursuing studies at the BCC, it also presents a nightmare to the administrators, who can only accept a maximum of 1 300. But, more important, imagine the frustration for those who don’t make the grade. Add to this the potential societal fallout.
The national scenario will be made worse once the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP) is added to the equation since it is almost certain that the number of applicants applying for the full-time courses there will far exceed the available spaces. This is not a situation about which there can be any comfort in saying that there is nothing new about the high incidence of prospective students who are turned away.
The situation points to grave weaknesses in our educational planning priorities. It was generally known that with the cutbacks at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies the pressure would have been shifted to the Community College and the SJPP. Preparation should have been made for this avalanche a long time ago.
So we have been caught unprepared for the demand for places. It would be unreasonable to leave thousands with no real options other than to further their traditional academic, technical or vocational training only to shed tears or look to unsavoury alternatives. In a very tight job market that demands only the best certified applicants, we would be failing this country’s youth if an urgent solution is no forthcoming.
The expansion of sixth form education cannot be any solution since it will not make a serious dent in the numbers, whilst neither the physical expansion of the community college or the polytechnic is possible in the prevailing economic circumstances. Careful, difficult choices have to be made.
Admittedly, this is the eleventh hour, but a solution is still possible. We suggest that it can come in the form of online education, which can bring about fundamental changes and reach a significant number of the applicants. The SJPP already uses this method; the BCC needs to get on board.
We understand the value of the traditional classroom experience and accept that online education has its weaknesses: no face-to-face interchanges with teachers, no allowance for those who must work in labs, and the absence of the interaction of campus life. But the advantages are much greater than the drawbacks.
Given the technological advances in online teaching platforms, use of this system can transform how education is delivered in Barbados. The reality is that the younger students are ready for this new era. And their education is key for the jobs of tomorrow.
