By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 28, 2021 – By any yardstick the political campaign of Leslia Miller-Brice, the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) candidate for the Sea Breeze constituency in the upcoming general election in The Bahamas, is impressive. Of course, this should not come as a surprise to seasoned political operatives in The Bahamas, given the fact that the businesswoman and former beauty queen is the daughter of Leslie Miller, who has been one of the most savvy politicians in The Bahamas for several decades.
If the political skills Mrs. Miller-Brice obviously inherited from her father needed further validation, a post on her Facebook page today (April 28) provides ample proof. Accompanied by a graphic highlighting “testimonials” praising an educational initiative she spearheaded in response to the crippling disruption caused by COVID-19 to the educational system of The Bahamas, here is what she posted:
“Today we celebrate the success of LB’s Learning Academy. The program was introduced to afford Bahamians at every age the access to educational and personal development programs.
On March 8th 2021, we kicked off this program with free after-school tutoring sessions for grades six, nine and twelfth grade students. Led by certified teachers, over two hundred students were able to engage in virtual tutoring sessions focusing on areas such as Math, Science, Reading, English Literature, Social Studies and much more.
Students and teachers shared great remarks on the time spent and the materials learned during each session. Some Students felt better equipped for the BJC/BGCSE examinations while others felt confident to take on new challenges in school.
I am so grateful we were able to assist so many students in this program. I would like to thank my team, the teachers, students and parents for your hard work and dedication to this program. It could not have been done without you!”
Commenting on the post, D’Metria Tiffany Smith, an educator at C.H. Reeves Junior High, wrote: “This was indeed an awesome and on time initiative for our darlings. It was a joy to be a part of this well organized after school online programme. Continue to set the standard Leslia Brice!”
Samantha Anderson commented: “I am so proud of this initiative that you’ve put on for the youths of our nation. I can assure you, they will never forget this opportunity that they had to ensure their success in education. Continue to flourish.”
As the person responsible for introducing the Scripps National Spelling Bee to The Bahamas in 1998 when I was Editor of The Nassau Guardian, it is a pity that we do not have administrators at the Ministry of Education who have been involved in conducting the Bahamas National Spelling Bee for many years with a similar commitment to overcoming the impact of COVID-19 on the country’s educational system.
Clearly, if we did, The Bahamas would have been ready to participate in the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee, in which a Bahamian spelling champion has participate every year since 1998, except for 2020 when the finals that were usually held near Washington, D.C. was cancelled.
They certainly had enough time to select a spelling champion to represent The Bahamas in the 2021 Scripps Spelling Bee after it was officially announced in February that Scripps National Spelling Bee would return “this year with top spellers from across the U.S. and the globe gathering near Orlando, Florida, on July 8 to compete in the nationally televised event.” The finals will be held July 8 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando.
Actually, in dealing with the ravages of COVID-19 on the country’s educational system, the government should have followed the example of Jamaica, which as far back as March of 2020 sought assistance from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which developed a project enitled, “Education Response To COVID-19 in the Caribbean.”
On its website, UNESCO noted: “The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented educational disruption in the Caribbean Small Island Developing States. Most governments in the English and Dutch Caribbean sub-region have temporarily closed educational institutions in an attempt to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. School closures have left 7 million learners and over 90 000 teachers across 23 countries and territories in the Caribbean sub-region grappling with a new reality of distance-learning.”
As part of its coordinated COVID-19 response, UNESCO organized a series of webinars focusing on the particular context of the Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Providing a “Framework for Reopening Schools,” the website noted: “UNESCO, UNICEF, and the World Bank propose this framework for reopening schools to support the national processes of decision-making and to facilitate guidance to help national and local authorities to decide the reasons and when and how to reopen the educational centres.
“In response to the request of the Jamaica Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, the UNESCO Cluster Office for the Caribbean provided technical advice to adapt the framework in the local context of Jamaica.”
It would be interesting to find out whether the relevant officials at The Bahamas’ Ministry of Education were privy to the recommendations made by this UNESCO project, but I suspect that they were not. Surely, this is a matter that Minister of Education Jeff Lloyd should look into.
But let me get back to congratulating Leslia Miller-Brice, the PLP candidate for the Sea Breeze, for her outstanding educational initiative and at the same time note that she is one of only five excellent women candidates among the 31 candidates who have already been ratified by the Opposition PLP. In addition to Glenys Hanna-Martin, the incumbent for Englerston, the others are Pia Glover-Rolle, Golden Gates; JoBeth Coleby-Davis, Elizabeth; an Lisa Rahming, Marathon.
Ginger Moxey and a team of her supporters have been campaigning very hard in the Pineridge constituency of Grand Bahama and she is expected to be ratified. There is also the possibility that Monique Pindling – daughter of the “Father of Our Nation,” the late Prime Minister Sir Lynden Pindling, who represented South Andros for many years – may get the nod for the Central and South Andros constituency.
As an Androsian whose navel string is buried in Stanyard Creek, in a previous article I fully endorsed the potential candidacy of Monique Pindling and I hope the PLP Candidates Committee see the wisdom of including another well qualified woman among lop-sided coterie of males being offered to the Bahamian electorate in the next general election.
