Dr Idamay Denny is the Director of Education Reform and will head the newly created Education Reform Unit in the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training.
“The Transformation of Barbados’ education system has been identified as one of the priorities of the current administration of government as articulated in its 2018 Manifesto. Central to the transformation that is needed to equip citizens for the future, will be the reformation of the national curriculum to make it relevant to the emerging technological and global trends, as well as the developmental and transformational needs of the country,” said a release issued through the Barbados Government Information Service.
“In order for the Ministry to undertake the desired transformation and innovations in education, the right strategy and expertise must be implemented to institute the reforms that are necessary to achieve the national objectives for the future development and prosperity of the country. Pivotal to this initiative therefore, is the need for the creation of a new leadership position with the technical expertise required to lead the strategic transformation of the education system over the course of the next decade.
“The Education Reform Unit will hence form part of a new project-related structure that will facilitate the formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the reform initiatives that will be aimed at transforming the education sector.”
As Director of Education Reform, which will take effect from April 26, Denny will lead the implementation of an extensive reform agenda which includes the development of programming and curricula which will enhance economic diversification, technological enhancement, including a framework for electronic education; enhancement of student outcomes; improvement of instructional quality; strengthening of school and system leadership; modernisation of the regulatory framework for education, and a number of other critical issues.
Denny served in the field of education for 46 years. She taught at All Saints’ Girls’, Deacons Primary, Pine Primary and Ellerton Primary schools before being assigned to the Ministry in October 1990 where she served for the next 20 years in various roles, including Peripatetic Reading Specialist, Education Officer responsible for language arts, Senior Education Officer, and for the last 10 years of her tenure, as Deputy Chief Education Officer.
In December 2009, Denny demitted office to join the Caribbean Development Bank, where she served for the next 10 years as Education Specialist and Portfolio Manager responsible for education, the post from which she retired in December 2019.
Denny is the holder of a teachers’ certificate with distinction from Erdiston Teachers’ Training College from which she graduated in 1978 as Student of the Year. In 1985, she graduated from the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in Literature and Linguistics with Education. She returned to UWI in 1991, graduating in 1992 with the Certificate in Educational Management and Administration, gaining a distinction and graduating as the most outstanding student. She also holds a Master of Education from Howard University in Washington.
She completed other certificate and diploma training over the years and was a part-time lecturer with the Department of Language, Linguistics and Literature at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus.
Denny also served on several boards in Barbados. (PR/SAT)
