The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology hosted a town hall meeting to discuss autism in the public education system on Monday.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Science and Technology, the Hon. Chester Cooper told attendees his ministry has undertaken the review of special education in the country. He said, “this has given us a clearer understanding of the number of students requiring additional educational support. The services currently available, the caps that still exists and the resources we must build to meet future needs.”
The education ministry is seeking to prioritize early intervention and equitable access to support for children with special needs across the country. Cooper said, “every child matters, not just New Providence children, not just Grand Bahama children, every child. I’ve asked the Director, Permanent Secretary to present a white paper, in the short term, on what it takes to establish that national registry that you have called for.”
Director of Education, Dominique McCartney-Russell spoke of some of the achievements of the ministry in advancing special education. She said, “we partnered with Barry University to ensure that a cohort of fourteen teachers were able to receive their master’s degrees in special education and we were able to place those teachers in strategic areas in our schools. We also realigned the Marjorie Davis Institute so that they became the tier two support service for our children.”
The ministry intend to expand special education in the family island and introduce a diploma program specifically for children with special needs.
