Jervon Sands | Repurpose regional education for today’s realities

Education in the Commonwealth Caribbean has a history spanning over three centuries, with more than 75 per cent of that time taking place during colonial rule. Consequently, our education systems, pedagogical practices and many of our existing schools were designed to be of service to the British Empire.

This includes: to prepare wealthy residents for positions of power within said empire; to train poor residents to work proficiently as managers; to control access to knowledge for previously enslaved persons; to prolong and entrench this group’s role as manual labour and to hinder revolution in the colonies. As a region, we significantly underestimate the impact of this compounded influence.

In the decades following Independence, numerous scholars have sought to convince Caribbean leaders of the urgent need for reform. Regrettably, previous reforms undertaken have only succeeded in pruning the proverbial tree of knowledge rather than acknowledging the rot at its root.

The solution is to uproot and replant our education systems with a relevant, regional purpose. We must for the first time seek to answer the question: Why is education necessary now and how do we educate the present generation to face present realities?

Education for the present generation looks like making efforts to safeguard our cultural heritage, livelihoods and peoples, as well as providing opportunities to enable youths to shape the region. This includes facilitating the emergence of a research culture in the Caribbean as too many times, issues are discussed and solutions are presented without sufficient evidence.

Young people are naturally innovative, and they want to participate in solving the issues of the day. But they need to be armed with the tools to contribute and not be treated as passive reservoirs collecting information from a bygone era.

Jervon Sands is the 2024 Commonwealth Caribbean Rhodes Scholar from The Bahamas. He is a climate change and sustainability professional working to address issues of social and environmental challenges in The Bahamas.