‘Government’ representatives in the Barbados National Youth Parliament (BNYP) have highlighted outdated school equipment and digital platforms as areas that need attention as Barbados moves ahead with digital transformation.
During Thursday’s debate at the Parliament Buildings in Bridgetown, Member of Government Samara Sealy said secondary school digital platforms were not keeping pace with the needs of modern learners.
“Currently, secondary school digital platforms remain outdated and lack the functionality needed to truly manage and engage modern learners,” she said.
Sealy argued that schools should introduce digital skills much earlier in a child’s education, rather than waiting until secondary school.
“Artificial intelligence and digital literacy need to be fundamental in student development from primary school,” she said. “While I’m not suggesting that 11-year-olds should be expected to create websites, they should at least have the knowledge on how to create a Word document or how to send off an email.”
She also proposed the creation of interactive, student-centred school portals and paid opportunities for young people to help manage them.
“We are transforming them from passive consumers of technology into active architects of their very own digital landscape,” Sealy said.
Member of Government Naomi Worrell focused on another challenge, ensuring students are not excluded because they lack devices or internet access.
Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, she said some children were forced to navigate online learning without the support they needed.
“We had digitally illiterate children being forced to become digitally literate on their own,” Worrell said. “And what happened to those students who didn’t even have access to devices or the Internet?”
She said assumptions that young people are automatically comfortable with technology could leave some students behind.
“Young people cannot become digitally literate if they are never taught or given the opportunity to even teach themselves,” she said.
Worrell said the proposed transformation must extend beyond young people, and the elderly must also be included.
“We plan to digitally transform the entire nation,” she said. “Yes, my speech is centred on the youth, but as our prime minister said before, we want to include the entire nation. We want to include elderly people.”
She cited figures that 77.9 per cent of households in Barbados had access to the Internet in 2024, leaving 22.1 per cent without access.
“The young people in those households deserve the same opportunities as their peers,” Worrell said.
Member of Government Zafirha Blackman said digital transformation could also strengthen education and better prepare students for employment.
“Technology is changing the way we learn, work, and communicate,” she said. “If we want our young and old people to succeed, we must give them skills to participate in an increasingly digital world.”
Blackman highlighted the proposed school portals, saying they could allow students to access assignments and other academic information when they are absent from school.
“Instead of depending entirely on a classmate to send a photograph of the assignment, a properly designed school portal could allow that student to access the information directly.”
She added that digital transformation was not only about education: “Digital transformation is therefore not just an investment in education; it is an investment in Barbados’ future workforce.”
The Digital Transformation Resolution proposes a National Digital Acceleration Roadmap, including mandatory digital literacy, coding, artificial intelligence ethics and digital citizenship from primary school.
It also proposes a National Youth Tech-Pass to provide free or subsidised access to coding boot camps and certifications, upgrades to school computer laboratories so they can operate as community innovation hubs, a national cybersecurity awareness campaign and stronger regional digital cooperation.
The BNYP debate forms part of National Youth Week, under the subtheme Youth Today, Leaders Tomorrow!
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