The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE father of an autistic young woman registered for the Bahamas Junior Certificate Craft examination in Abaco said he and members of his family are “upset and dissatisfied” after Ministry of Education adjudicators reportedly refused to make a 40-mile journey from Marsh Harbour to Cooper’s Town to see his daughter’s exam submission.

Huel Moss, principal of the S C Bootle High School, said that despite being on the island last week education officials never showed up at the school to assess submissions made by two students, one of whom was his 24-year-old autistic daughter, Latonya.

Mr Moss said that on May 28, adjudicators arrived in Abaco from Nassau to inspect BJC craft submissions from students on the island. He said to his “horror,” the adjudicators never made it north to Copper’s Town, remaining in Marsh Harbour the entire time.

He claimed he was instructed to load the two exam pieces into a vehicle and take them to Marsh Harbour for grading.

Mr Moss said he refused to do so because he feared the journey would compromise the integrity of the fragile pieces.

The Treasure Cay resident said he was then instructed to pack the pieces and ship them to Nassau for grading as the observers were not going to make the journey while in Abaco.

“I speak not as a high school principal, but as a very concerned parent. My daughter has been making great progress as a special-education student with autism. Her teachers thought that she was doing well enough to make an attempt at the exam this year,” he said.

“She worked extremely hard. Both her and the other student did what they needed to do to make sure that their work was prepared and ready for this occasion. This is a major deal for these kids, their work, dedication and success should be respected,” Mr Moss added.

“It is very disheartening to have these young students make all the effort they did and not have the examiners, who were on the island, not make the drive to examine and grade their work. This is not what education is all about. To me this is a travesty – especially coming from the ministry that should be promoting excellence in each student.”

According to her father, Latonya is a student at the Every Child Counts School, an Abaco-based institution for children with special needs.

As a part of the programme, Latonya was introduced to ceramics, a skill she quickly “fine tuned and perfected,” her father said.

Instructors were so impressed by her creativity that they recommended that she take the annual exam as a private candidate.

Mr Moss said the opportunity allowed Latonya a chance to work with one of her mentors, Karen McIntosh of Abaco Ceramics, and a number of the art teachers at S C Bootle High School.

When contacted by The Tribune yesterday officials at the Ministry of Education’s Examination and Assessment Division said they were unaware of the matter and had to look into the situation before making any statement.

The unit is responsible for the handling and assessment of both the BJC and the Bahamas Government Certificate Secondary Examination (BGCSE).

Meanwhile, Mr Moss said his daughter is “very disappointed” at being overlooked. He said he does not know what will happen next, but is doing all that he can to repair the matter.

Last month, education officials confirmed that the BJC English Language Paper 2 examination would have to be rewritten and redistributed following an “examination security breach” at one of the examination centres.

Education Director Lionel Sands said the original paper had been made void.