Minister of Education Jeffrey Lloyd revealed yesterday that an “aggressive teacher recruitment exercise” was held recently to find educators to fill various positions.

The Bahama Journal spoke with Mr. Lloyd before the weekly Cabinet meeting where he revealed that there is a teacher shortage in several subject areas.

“In particular, these areas such as math and science, but also we’re talking about and technical and vocational subject areas,” Mr. Lloyd said.

The minister of education noted that a team from the Ministry of Education went to Cuba and recruited a group of teachers, but there is still a struggle to “meet that cohort of teachers in those required disciplines.”

Mr. Lloyd is encouraging Bahamians, particularly males, to enter to the field.

He said the ministry plans to pay close attention on improving infrastructures of school buildings, as a number of them are 30 years or older and are in a state of advance disrepair.

The building upgrades would help the overcrowding in most Family Island schools.

Mr. Lloyd emphasized, “We have to find a way to build a new school in the next year and the next 18 months.”

“They [The Family Islands] too need to have the same level of representation and opportunity as we do here in New Providence and the rest of the islands,” he added.