A MAJOR study will be conducted in Barbados of the top 1 000 students from this year’s Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE), commonly known as the 11-Plus exam.
This was revealed on Monday by Minister of Education, Ronald Jones, who was addressing this year’s scholarship and exhibition winners at the Erdiston Teachers’ Training College.
According to the Minister, the survey which will be undertaken in a few months, will seek to conduct a deep analysis of all the sociological implications in this group and to determine peculiar characteristics that allow those students to stand out. He noted that the over 3 000 students who sat the exam would be too many to study in their entirety, adding that the results of the first 1 000 will be very close.
The Minister also expressed the importance of early nurturing through early childhood education.
Pointing to the new nurseries to come on stream including Government Hill Nursery, one to be located in Holder’s Hill, Sayers Court and Deacons, which he said will complete the cycle for nursery education, without competing against private day-care centres.
“So that by 2019 all of our three years old would be in a nursery and early education environment ... given the needed stimuli,” he said. (JH)