BY SHARON AUSTIN | APR 21, 2023
The Constitutional Reform Commission (CRC) recently presented 300 copies of The Barbados Constitution: Facts and Questions to the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training. With copies of the book are: (from left) Deputy Chief Education Officer, Dr. Roderick Rudder; Chairman of the CRC, Mr. Justice (Retd) Christopher Blackman; author of the book, Professor Velma Newton, and Commissioner Khaleel Kothdiwala. (GP)
The Constitutional Reform Commission (CRC) has donated 300 copies of the Barbados Constitution: Facts and Questions to the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training.
Commissioner Khaleel Kothdiwala made the presentation recently to Deputy Chief Education Officer, Dr. Roderick Rudder, at the Ministry of Education, Elsie Payne Complex, Constitution Road, St. Michael.
Mr. Kothdiwala stressed the importance of the books, which will be used in the schools’ civics programme. “Since our appointment in June 2022, we have been engaged in a robust public consultation …, and we have noticed that there is a significant gap in public knowledge relating to the Constitution….
“Certainly, people are not going to be able to contribute to reforming the Constitution if they don’t understand what the Constitution presently entails, and that is true for adult Barbadians and…young Barbadians,” he stated.
The CRC Commissioner expressed the hope that the book would be a useful tool in the “arsenal” to provide the necessary information that was lacking.
Dr. Rudder said there was a lot of excitement about the commencement of the teaching of civics in schools from this September.
He continued: “The new civics curriculum is intended to assist teachers in transferring knowledge and helping students gain knowledge and develop the skills necessary to become active and informed citizens of this country….
“As we seek to produce global citizens that can fit in anywhere across the globe, we first have to have a deep appreciation for our own historical development and the institutions that have helped to shape this country. And, therefore, our citizenry must be placed in a position to be able to adapt to the changing economic, social and technological landscape and this must be buttressed by a very rigorous but simply delivered civics curriculum at the national level,” he suggested.
The Deputy Chief Education Officer said the Constitution of Barbados must form a critical part of the young people’s understanding of the rights, privileges and institutions that shaped this country, which is at a very critical juncture in its history.
The Barbados Constitution: Facts and Questions book was prepared by former Law Librarian of The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Professor Velma Newton, who was called on by the 1997 Forde Commission to produce the document.
The revised edition was commissioned last year by the Office of the Attorney General.
